Ten Thousand Things @ Wing Luke Museum

On season three, episode five of “Ten Thousand Things,” 🎙️ Seattle-based chef Tiffany Ran tells a story about the Tatung rice cooker gifted to her by her mother:

“You don’t always have people who are going to be there for you constantly, you don’t even have things that are going to be there for you constantly. Most things are so disposable, and here’s this little appliance that’s always been there. In some weird way, it’s also made me feel really cared for.”

Ran’s Tatung is among other modern-day artifacts of Asian-American life in a collection curated by Shin Yu Pai, host of the award-winning KUOW podcast. “Ten thousand” is a nod to a Chinese saying that conveys “something infinite, vast and unfathomable.” To Pai, bridging the parasocial experience of podcast listening to the sensorial experience of walking through a museum was an intuitive translation of her work. “I hope that visitors will take a moment to reflect on the objects that they invest with feeling and memory,” she says.

Start with this second-floor alcove to see the rest of Wing Luke through new eyes. A Sears catalogue enamel baby bathtub that has been in Paul Miyahara’s family since 1943 is at the center of the room. Etsuko Ichikawa’s vitrified orbs glow in the corner, inspired by a tour of the Hanford nuclear facility. In a world of Amazon same-day delivery and Goodwill thrift hauls, I’m grateful for heirlooms with staying power and you might be too.

☎️ Before leaving, lift the receiver on the vintage rotary phone to record a voice message describing an object of significance.