Tides — WKU Museum
An 800 m² university museum built around the idea of tides: origins, growth, voices, support and the future.
- Context
- Wenzhou-Kean University
- My contribution
- Narrative development, exhibit concepts & project coordination
Turning an archive into a shared experience.
How do you tell the story of a young university without relying on a conventional timeline? I developed “Tides,” a narrative that brings dispersed archival material together through five connected chapters.
Working across 13 internal units, I coordinated content development, review and exhibition delivery. The museum was delivered from concept to launch in six months, with 12 interactive exhibits. I also recruited and trained 10 student volunteer guides and established an ongoing visitor reception process.
A story shaped by tides
With only ten years of university history, a conventional timeline offered limited narrative depth. I reorganized the archive around “Tides,” connecting the university’s origins, people and future.
The idea draws on Wenzhou’s spirit of leading the tide and the connection across the ocean between Zhejiang, China, and New Jersey, USA. One narrative ties together the exhibition’s content and visual language.
Five chapters. One shared story.
- 01
Rising Tide
University origins
Who we are - 02
High Tide
Academic growth
What we do - 03
Tidal Echo
Alumni voices
What we achieve - 04
Tidal Song
Legacy & support
The support behind us - 05
Tidal Future
The blueprint
Our vision
From narrative to spatial experience
Flowing curves connect the themed exhibition areas, translating the tide narrative into a visitor route. Twelve interactive installations make the archive something to explore and participate in.
A story people can enter
Immersive scenes, alumni stories and digital exhibits offer different ways into the same university story. These concept renderings show how the themes take shape before the completed museum shown below.
The museum, in use
Space, exhibits and the opening-day visitor experience.
