New, vibrant shelter murals reflect the strength of the AANHP community

Three King County Metro bus stops in and around the Chinatown-International District now celebrate the American Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pasifika art of Metro employee Wan-Lin Tsou (she/her).

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. Hear their stories in their own words in recent interviews.

Tsou watched Wednesday 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, a Project-Program Manager for Metro, created a design that features cultural images encased in dragon scales.

“I’m just so thrilled to see my art publicly displayed,” she 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.”

This is the third art project that reflects the voices and culture of the communities Metro serves, following earlier Pride and Black Lives Matter bus wraps. Metro also is currently featuring community-based poetry on buses rolling across the region.

Tsou said she was moved to express herself in art following the shooting deaths of 11 people inside the Monterey Park, Calif., Star Ballroom in 2023 during the Lunar New Year celebrations. All of the victims were from an AANHP background.

“I really wanted to show there was so much more to our communities – beauty, joy and some seriously good food,” she said.