[iDiversity] WLAM Request for Qualifications for Professional Exhibit Designers and/or Graphic Designers-- Call open to all residing in the United States

[Joann Natalia G. Aquino]

Wing Luke Asian Museum

Request for Qualifications for Professional Exhibit Designers and/or Graphic
Designers

Wing Luke Asian Museum- East Kong Yick Building Capital Project

This project for the exhibit design phase is open to all professional exhibit
and/or graphic designers residing in the United States.

Deadline:   Friday, October 28, 2005 by 4:30 pm.  No postmarks.


The Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle, Washington seeks exhibit and/or graphic
designers to contribute to the exhibit design phase of How You Keep A Story
Going, a $24.7 million capital project to rehabilitate the historic East Kong
Yick Building as a regional cultural center that preserves the stories and
promotes the voices of Asian Pacific Islander Americans throughout the
Pacific Northwest. The Wing Luke Asian Museum is the only pan-Asian Pacific
Islander American cultural institution of its kind in the country that offers
award-winning exhibitions, educational programming, publications, research and
outreach.

Selected Exhibit Designers will join the exhibit team, which comprises Museum
staff and community advisors. The project is currently near the end of exhibit
space development, which will be completed in December 2005. To ensure that the
exhibit team has strong complementary skills, designers with intimate knowledge
of Pacific Northwest Asian Pacific Islander American communities, experience
working with diverse communities, and media/technology skills are strongly
encouraged to apply. Experience working successfully and resourcefully with
limited budgets and community resources is important.


Selected Exhibit Designers will:
1) Design exhibit layout, components (including photo sizing and artifact case
displays)
and surface design;
2) Design and coordinate production of exhibit panels and text panels; and
3) Coordinate production with exhibit fabricators and Museum staff, as required.

The exhibit team seeks multiple independent exhibit and graphic designers to
collaborate with on various exhibitions for the new facility. Selected Exhibit
Designers may be asked to work in partnership with other selected Exhibit
Designers for a single exhibit. Selected Exhibit Designers also may be asked to
meet periodically with other selected Exhibit Designers to share progress on
exhibit work. Exhibit Designers hired for this project will be expected to help
the East Kong Yick Building project team to ensure maximum value for
constituents and stakeholders in our region and create and enhance a community
asset.


Design Fee: TBD

Deadline: Required materials must be received no later than 4:30 P.M. on Friday,
October
28, 2005. Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks.



Organizational Background:
The Wing Luke Asian Museum is a nonprofit community-based cultural institution
that engages Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) and the public in exploring
issues related to APIA art, culture and history. Museum programs serve multiple
generations and diverse racial and ethnic groups. In FY2005 the Museum reached
196,785 people (174,433 off-site, 22,352 on-site) through onsite and traveling exhibitions, education programs, publications, website, and other outreach.

The Museum is locally embraced and nationally recognized. In 1995 the Museum was
honored with the prestigious National Award for Museum Service, the highest
honor in the museum profession presented by the Institute of Museum and Library
Services. In 2001 the Museum became the first Smithsonian Institution affiliate
in the Pacific Northwest. The Charles Redd Center for Western Studies/Western
Museum Association honored the Museum in 2002 with the Award for Exhibition
Excellence for "If Tired Hands Could Talk," featuring stories of APIA women
garment workers.

The Museum has made a firm commitment to: 1) affirm and celebrate the Asian
Pacific Islander American experience; 2) empower Asian Pacific Islander
Americans to tell stories in their own voices; 3) promote intergenerational,
multicultural, cross-disciplinary understanding and social justice; 4) support
community-based scholarship; 5) advocate for APIA artists; 6) serve as a
repository for artifacts, photographs, books, archival material and other
historic records relating to APIA experiences in America; 7) provide a model for
community-based museums nationally and internationally; 8) help preserve and
revitalize Seattle's Chinatown-International District; 9) promote
Asian Pacific Islander American leadership development; and 10) uphold the
highest professional standards as a Smithsonian Institution affiliate. For more
information about Wing Luke Asian Museum, visit the website at
http://www.wingluke.org/


Project Background
In partnership with the communities it serves, the Wing Luke Asian Museum has
embarked upon an extraordinary journey to transform a building and a community.
How You Keep A Story Going is a $24.7 million capital campaign to rehabilitate
the East Kong Yick Building as its new permanent home in Seattle's
Chinatown-International District. For 39 years the Museum has produced
exhibitions, education programs, and public outreach, preparing the organization
to successfully achieve its capital campaign goals. Like the Anne Frank House
and the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum in New York-institutions with
international standing-the new Wing Luke Asian Museum will preserve a
significant historic edifice as a dynamic cultural center, which will redefine
museum
work through community-based service. The Museum embraces the stories of
immigrant and refugee populations that have enriched and strengthened the
American experience. Through the rehabilitation of the East Kong Yick Building,
the Museum will be able to expand its role: as an economic and community
resource for a distinctly diverse neighborhood; as one of Seattle's
historic and artistic treasures; and as a regional cultural institution of
national significance.

The East Kong Yick Building, also known as the Freeman Hotel, is located at
715-725 South King Street in the heart of an historic neighborhood. The brick
and timber SRO hotel was constructed in 1910 with the pooled resources of 170
Chinese American pioneer settlers and became a residence and business and social
center for Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants who arrived in the
pre-World War II era to work in the cannery, timber, garment, railroad and
agricultural industries.

Although the upper floors of the building have been vacant since the early
1970s, the lower levels, until recently, housed Chinese family associations, a
Chinese senior club, and an import-export business that operated continuously
from when the hotel was built until the present year. The building remains a
vibrant, if fragile, gathering place for the community.

In 1986, the hotels located along King Street in the historic core of
Chinatown-International District, including the East Kong Yick Building, were
added to the National Register of Historic Places. On February 28, 2001, the
Nisqually Earthquake damaged the Kong Yick Building, posing an immediate threat
to the survival of a key structure within what has been described as "one of the
most significant Asian American cultural districts in the United States"
(Lawrence Kreisman, in National Register of Historic Places Inventory, 1986).
Conscious of the precarious state of the building and the urgency to preserve
the stories of elders in the community, shareholders of the Kong Yick Investment
Company invited the Museum to become stewards of this treasure. These
descendants of the original founders have entrusted the Museum to preserve the
legacies of the APIA community, expand opportunities for Asian Pacific Islander
American artists, embrace larger and more diverse intergenerational audiences,
continue to confront challenges to social justice and facilitate multiethnic and
intercultural understanding.

As the new Museum, the renovated facility will serve as a vital locus of
creative exploration, civic pride and community learning, an authentic stage for
introducing students and adults to the challenges and contributions of Asian
Pacific Islander Americans everywhere through arts and heritage, and as a social
and economic hub for the neighborhood.

The capital project will:
*Enhance the national reputation of the Museum and the cultural profile of the
region by expanding an institution that is a singular model of community-based
exhibition design and education.
*Facilitate expansion of Museum school programming, the largest pan-Asian
Pacific Islander American resource for schools in the nation.
*Provide visitors, families and researchers access to the artifacts, written
records, photographs and exhibits that chronicle and preserve Asian Pacific
Islander American experiences and voices.
*Offer new and expanded programs with dedicated spaces for: community meetings
and events; family association meeting space; public space for the neighborhood;
theater space for performances and presentations; exhibit spaces for pioneer
Asian Pacific Islander American artists, community art and emerging Asian
Pacific Islander American artists; family-centered learning environments;
community-centered research and resource access; space for leadership
development for neighborhood youth.
*Attract 55,000-60,000 annual visitors, create 12 new Museum jobs and bolster
other employment and economic activities in Chinatown-International District.


Scope of Work:
Selected Exhibit Designers will work collaboratively with the exhibit team,
which comprises Museum staff and community advisors. A specific scope of work
will be determined for each selected Exhibit Designer based on 1) the specific
exhibit, and 2) whether the Exhibit Designer will be working singularly or in
partnership with other Exhibit Designers for the specific exhibit. Selected
Exhibit Designers also will be asked to meet periodically with other selected
Exhibit Designers to share progress on exhibit work and coordinate exhibit
design within the overall building. Selected

Exhibit Designers will: 1) design exhibit layout, components (including photo
sizing and artifact case displays) and surface design; 2) design and coordinate production of exhibit panels and text panels; and 3) coordinate production with exhibit fabricators and Museum staff, as required. Upon final Exhibit Design, Exhibit Designers will create exhibit layouts and drawings necessary for exhibit
fabrication, and exhibit panels and text panels ready for reproduction. The
Exhibit Design will articulate the mission and stories of the new Museum and the
communities its serves, as determined during Exhibit Development. Exhibit Design
also will take into account the budget for the project, along with architectural
design (completed in August 2005), the new facility art plan (completed in August 2005), and Museum visitor service requirements.

Specific skills sought include experience working with diverse communities,
particularly Asian Pacific Islander American communities. Previous experience
with major exhibit planning and/or exhibit team collaboration is not required.
Intimate knowledge of Pacific Northwest Asian Pacific American communities and
experience working successfully and resourcefully with limited budgets
and community resources is important. The design fee for selected Exhibit
Designers will be determined based on the specific scope of work. Selected
Exhibit Designers will work through the Exhibit Design phase and into the
Exhibit Fabrication phase of the project (January 2006 - July 2007).

Identified exhibit spaces in the new facility include:
*Chinatown-International District Exhibit located in the Welcome Hall: The
history of the Chinatown-International District with connections to Canton
Alley, links to the rest of the neighborhood, and options for walking tours.
*Wing Luke and WLAM Exhibit located in the Welcome Hall: The story of Wing Luke
and an introduction to the Museum and its history.
*New Dialogue Initiative Exhibit located in the Welcome Hall: Featuring
community responses to selected contemporary social issues.
*Community Exploration Gallery located on the Second Level: The Community
Exploration Gallery showcases the pan-Asian Pacific American story and includes
a timeline to detail this rich history. The exhibition takes visitors through
the journey of Asian Pacific Americans from their homelands to establishing
communities in the United States and features the actual voices and first-hand
detailed accounts of historic events.
*Community Portrait Lab located on the Second Level: The Community Portrait Lab
is comprised of 5 smaller exhibition rooms, each focused on a distinct
individual ethnic group. Visitors can readily identify specific communities and
delve into their history, art and culture.
*KidPLACE Discovery Area located on the Second Level: In the KidPLACE Discovery
Area, children (and adults who are children at heart) use all of their senses to
explore and discover Asian Pacific American heritage.
*Immersion Exhibitions through the Historic Kong Yick Building: In the Immersion
Exhibitions, visitors step back in time, entering historic storefronts,
including the historic Yick Fung Company store - relocated to the Museum site -
climbing the building's original historic staircase, exploring the private
living spaces and social clubs of the past. Immersed in the actual historic
spaces, which have been recreated with authentic artifacts, photographs and
documents and infused with multimedia displays bringing the spaces further to
life, visitors become enveloped in the real experiences and stories of these
early pioneers, intimately familiar with the first and second generation
experience, and brought closer to their own immigrant roots.
*Special Exhibition Gallery located on the First Floor: The Special Exhibition
Gallery offers a large, expansive exhibition floor with multimedia capabilities
to allow for great flexibility in showcasing special exhibitions temporarily on
display at the Museum. The first Special Exhibition will share the rich history
and heritage of the Native Hawaiian Community in the Pacific Northwest,
scheduled to open in February 2008.
*Arts Gallery located on the Second Floor: The Arts Gallery gives tribute to the
pioneer Asian Pacific American artists who fueled the community with creativity
in an era when acknowledged artists were few and far between and continue to
inspire us today. The Arts Gallery also provides much needed exhibition space
for current Asian Pacific American artists, our pioneer artists of tomorrow. The
Arts Gallery will feature changing exhibitions.
The first Arts Gallery Exhibition is scheduled to open in March 2008.

Selection Criteria:
Applicants will be evaluated using the following criteria:
Quality and strength of past work as demonstrated in the submitted work images.
Ability to communicate effectively and work collaboratively with design
professionals, museum staff and diverse community members. Experience working with diverse communities, particularly Asian Pacific Islander American communities. Experience working successfully and resourcefully with limited budgets and community resources.

This project for the Exhibit Design phase is open to all professional exhibit
and/or graphic designers residing in the United States.

Selection Process:
An Exhibit Designer selection panel comprising three Museum representatives and
one design professional will review all applications received by the deadline.
The panel will select individuals to interview. Finalists will not be expected
to develop proposals; but each finalist will be expected to discuss past
approaches and working methods with the panel as well as answer questions
pertaining to working on this type of project as part of an interview process.
Finalists may receive a travel stipend for the interview.

Application Materials:
Designers who wish to be considered must submit the following materials.
*A letter of interest (1 page maximum) that should explain how the designer's
work is appropriate for this project; what interests the designer about working
on the project; and past experience relevant to the project.
*Visual materials:
*WORK IMAGES: 16 slides (35mm) or digital images maximum of recent work. Slides
must be in a clear plastic slide sheet; each slide must be labeled with the
designer's name, top of image and numbered to correspond to the annotated slide
list. Digital images must be on CD, labeled with the designer's name. Each image
must be numbered to correspond to an accompanying annotated image list. Larger
transparencies and prints will not be considered. No bulky materials or original
works of art should be submitted.
*Additional visual materials that may be sent with work images include:
*VIDEO: Designers may submit four 3-minute work samples (VHS or DVD format) in
lieu of work images or to augment the work images. (All work samples must be
compiled on one VHS tape and cued to the first segment for display to the
panel.) VHS tapes and DVDs must also be labeled with the designer's name and
accompanied by an annotation sheet that explains the work represented by the
tape including the date of creation and brief description. No video promotional
tapes will be considered by the panel.
*Annotated list of visual materials. A printed sheet of information with
designer's name and telephone number, brief description of work, date of work,
size and/or scope and the corresponding work image number. Designers are
encouraged to include a brief description (1 page maximum) of design team
collaborative work, and experience working with diverse communities,
particularly Asian Pacific Islander American communities.
*Current professional resume (2 pages maximum).
*Stamped self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage for return of visual
materials. The Wing Luke Asian Museum will make every effort to protect
submitted materials; however, the Museum will not be responsible for any loss or
damage. Written application materials will be photocopied for the panelists.
Please do not staple or bind application materials. Please submit written
materials on plain white 8½" X 11" paper with acceptable margins. To help
process your application, please put the name of the project (East
Kong Yick Building Exhibit Design) on the outside of your application envelope.

Application Deadline:
Deadline: Required materials must be received no later than 4:30 P.M. on Friday,
October 28, 2005.  Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks.
Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed by the panel.

Mail applications to:
Wing Luke Asian Museum
East Kong Yick Building Exhibit Design
407 Seventh Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104-2948

Schedule:
Exhibit Designer Selection Process
Deadline for entry Friday, October 28, 2005
Panel meeting to select finalists November 7, 2005
Finalists notified November 21, 2005
Finalists interviewed December 1 - 16, 2005
Selected designers notified & contracts issued December 2005
Project Schedules, as of August 10, 2005
Building Design Development February 2005 - July 2005
Building Construction Document Development July 2005 - November 2005
Exhibit Space Development Through December 2005
Exhibit Design and Offsite Fabrication as required January 2006 - April 2007
Onsite Fabrication and Installation April 2007 - September 2007
New Museum Building Completed October 2007

* For the phase of work for this RFQ, Exhibit Designers must be available to
work through the exhibit design phase and into the exhibit fabrication phase of
the project (January 2006- July 2007).


FOR QUESTIONS, contact: May Ching, Exhibit Planner- Wing Luke Asian Museum, at
email: mching at wingluke.org or (206) 623.5124 ext. 124.
###


**********************************
Joann Natalia Aquino
Public Relations Manager
Wing Luke Asian Museum
407-7th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
phone: 206.623.5124 ext. 106   |   fax: 206.652.4963
www.wingluke.org
e-mail: jaquino at wingluke.org
joannnatalia_aquino at publicist.com   |  missaquino at publicist.com



About the Wing Luke Asian Museum:
The Wing Luke Asian Museum is located in the heart of Seattle's historic
Chinatown/ International District at 407-7th Avenue South.  Founded in 1966, the
Museum has a regional and national significance, and celebrates its namesake of
the first Asian American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest, Wing
Luke.  The Wing Luke Asian Museum- an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution,
the 1995 recipient of the National Award for Museum Service, and the 2004
recipient of the City of Seattle Distinguished Human Rights Award- is dedicated
to engaging the public in exploring issues related to the culture, art and
history of Asian Pacific Americans.

A museum like no other- The Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle, Washington is the
only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the country.  It is nationally
recognized for its award-winning exhibitions and community-based model of
exhibition and program development.  The Museum has embarked upon a remarkable
journey to transform a building and a community by raising $23 million to
rehabilitate the Kong Yick Building as its new permanent home in Seattle's
multicultural Chinatown/ International District.

To learn more about current exhibitions and exciting programs and events at the
Wing Luke Asian Museum, please visit www.wingluke.org.





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Joann Natalia G. Aquino
Graduate Student, Department of Communication
University of Washington
E-mail: jnaquino at u.washington.edu, herstory at joannnataliaaquino.com


"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the
questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you
because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it,
live along some distant day into the answers." -Rilke