Artwork by a King County Metro employee, Wan-Lin Tsou, was installed at three shelter locations in the Chinatown-International District last week.
Tsou watched on June 5 as a crew installed panels of her art at the northbound bus stops on Third Avenue next to the King County Courthouse, saying she was moved to see it out in the public sphere. The other stops with her art are located on the southbound Second Avenue Extension at Jackson Street and eastbound Jackson Street at Maynard Street.
Tsou said she was moved to express herself in art following the shooting deaths of 11 people in Monterey Park, California in 2023 during the Lunar New Year celebrations.
“I really wanted to show there was so much more to our communities—beauty, joy and some seriously good food.”
Tsou created her art as part of Metro’s celebration of American Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pasifika Heritage (AANHP) Month, traditionally observed in May. The art projects, all designed by Metro employees, also included a dramatic bus wrap by Vance Sakado celebrating his heritage, and a large multi-panel installation by Linh Hoang and Keiko Budech celebrating the love and hard work of AANHP mothers.
“I’m just so thrilled to see my art publicly displayed,” Tsou said. “It’s such an honor, and I love sharing images of this really rich, diverse community with the region. I wanted to showcase the many facets here of the AANHP diaspora.”