Bringing Hidden Stories into Focus with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

Client: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center | Location: Washington, DC

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The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) doesn't have a museum of its own — so when its newest exhibition opened at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH), they had a question: who's actually showing up, and how are they experiencing it? APAC wanted to understand its audience in this particular setting, and to see how that compared to visitors at a recent APAC exhibition, Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond, hosted at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

THE PROJECT

We conducted a summative evaluation of APAC’s How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories (HCYFM) exhibition during its residency at NMAH.

THE APPROACH

We conducted 249 exit surveys onsite at NMAH and 41 observations and interviews that focused on two special HCYFM exhibits. The survey data provided perspectives on the visitor experience in the exhibition as a whole, while the observations and interviews drilled down on the experiences and takeaways for two exhibits that APAC was curious to know more about.

WHAT WE LEARNED

The exhibition reached the audience it was built for. One-third of visitors identified as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) — compared to just 7 percent of NMAH's typical visitors and 18 percent for APAC's prior exhibition, Sightlines. These visitors weren't stumbling in by accident: they were more likely to have heard about the exhibition through word of mouth and to already know APAC's work.

The objects did the emotional work.  Visitors consistently pointed to the steamer trunks and clothing on display as the exhibition's hook, using them to imagine their own or their family's immigration stories. Filipino and Filipino American visitors in particular connected these objects to their own histories of resilience and reinvention.

One area had an outsized impact on visitors. Visitors who spent time in the Little Manila Rising section were significantly more likely to walk away understanding all APAC's core intended messages — a signal worth studying for future exhibitions.

HCYFM and Sightlines told APAC something bigger than either exhibition alone. Across both studies, visitors consistently described APAC's exhibitions as "interesting," "unique," and "important" — regardless of subject matter or host museum — suggesting APAC has found a distinct and engaging voice.