Programs

The Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum designs, administers, and executes a variety of programs necessary to attain Congressional authorization and the creation of forward-looking museum that is dynamic in operation and financially sustainable.

Communication and Awareness

We are driving awareness of and growing community support for the effort to establish the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.

Objectives:

  1. Create content-driven communication that harnesses the power of digital and social media to build awareness of and support for the yet-to-be-authorized museum.
  2. Connect and coordinate with APA organizations, mission-aligned thought leaders, corporations, universities, institutions, constituencies, and decision-makers who can help build support for Congressional authorization of the Museum.
  3. Coordinate engagement with representatives and public officials at the local, state, and nationwide level of support for the Museum.
  4. Organize, host, and participate in events and activities to raise awareness and garner support for the Museum.

Outreach and Alliances

We aim to establish, nurture, and coordinate alliances with other organizations — ethnic, regional, industry, and mission-driven—to build support for the Museum's authorization and to ensure that in its creation the the Museum represents the full, disaggregated histories and cultural contributions of all Asian Pacific American communities.

Objectives:

  1. Coordinate with a broad base of Asian Pacific American and other organizations and institutions, including schools and regional museums, to build and channel enthusiasm and resources to support the museum.
  2. Nurture a broad base of relationships with ethnoracial, regional, professional, and industry-related advocacy organizations that represent the historical and ongoing cultural contributions of Asian Pacific Americans.
  3. Prioritize continuous, substantive, and meaningful outreach to and engagement with Asian Pacific American organizations. This includes co-hosting, attending, and presenting at conferences and events.

Commission Fundraising Support

‍Our Commission Support Program engages in fundraising efforts to help pay the costs of the Commission. In addition to funding, this program will offer in-kind services, staffing, information, research, and consultancy work, as requested by the Commission.

In June 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R. 3525, the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act. Unlike previous legislation authorizing all other ethnic American Smithsonian museums, there is a prohibition on the use of federal funds to pay for this Commission’s costs.

Asian Pacific American History and Culture Initiative

The Asian Pacific American History and Culture Initiative engages with APA organizations, academics and historians, museum experts, and community leaders to develop disaggregated, positive, incisive, sensitive, and museological directions and curatorial programs.

Objectives:

  1. Establish a task force to formally gather key APA organizations, historians, academics, local museums, and other institutions that focus on the history and culture of each Asian Pacific American racial and ethnic communities.
  2. Ensure that the disaggregated histories, chronicles, narratives, and cultural contributions in America of all Asian Pacific American communities are appropriately, sensitively, and comprehensively collected and curated.
  3. Provide support to the Commission and to the future museum to help ensure chronicles, narratives, stories, and artifacts are properly assessed and prioritized for museological and curatorial consideration.

Innovation and Museum Experience

This program pushes the boundaries of innovation to imagine exhibition experiences and storytelling in a forward-looking museum for younger and future generations.

It explores the use of innovative and immersive A/R X/R and AI technology applications for exhibition design and use, collections accessibility, storytelling, and ultimately, achieving and holding visitor connection and fulfillment.

Incorporation of the latest thinking, applications, and ideas in curatorial and exhibitions to create “museum experiences” in the digital age of AI is key to attracting young and new museum audiences. This will also create opportunities for revenue streams to ensure a level of financial sustainability in the Museum's operations thereby addressing a major concern of Congress.

Objectives:

  1. Work with leading technology companies and consultants to develop concepts for immersive museum exhibitions, including virtual and augmented reality, holography, and generative AI.
  2. Explore the “museum as incubator” concept, including the possibility of public-private partnerships.
  3. Evaluate the viability of various revenue streams, including evening hours, concept dining, and live theater, music, and dance performances.
  4. Share the program results and beta proof-of-concepts for consideration with the Commission, key decision-makers, and members of Congress.

© 2024 Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum

Friends of the National Asian Pacific American Museum is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization. We are not affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution or the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

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