Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America
May 15 - August 2, 2026
New Filipino Nurses Exhibit to Reveal Lives Beyond Stereotypes
With the Philippines funneling more workers into the U.S. healthcare system than any other country, a new museum exhibit is set to both define and deconstruct an emerging stereotype: the Filipino nurse.
The tangled history of colonialism, misogyny and racism powering this unique migration story plays out in “Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America,” a new exhibit set to run from May 15 to August 2, 2026, at the International Museum of Surgical Science, 1524 N. Lake Shore Drive in the Windy City’s Gold Coast neighborhood. It will feature hospital uniforms, medical equipment, awards, immigration documentation, photographs and personal mementos, as well as a full schedule of lectures, panels and dramatic presentations designed to bring the collection to life.
“The history of Filipinos in health care here in the U.S. dates back over a century,” said Merle Salazar, a board member of the Filipino American National Historical Society Greater Chicago Chapter (FANHSC), which created the exhibit. “They helped shape the profession with their knowledge and cultural instincts, making nursing what it is today. This is an important exhibit that we hope will engage many within the Filipino-American community and beyond.”
Telling the stories of young women coming to America alone in the 1940s until present day, the exhibit artifacts displayed will range from university yearbooks and journals to combs and ballgowns brought and worn decades ago. Other items reference Richard Speck and the Filipino student nurses killed in the nation’s first mass murder.
To dramatize the exhibit, CIRCA Pintig, Chicago’s premiere, Filipino theater company, will host multiple panels and live readings. Guest artists include poet and author, Dwight Okita; playwright and educator, Giovanni Ortega; composer and playwright, Foline Roos; and writer and creative producer, R.J. Silva.
The exhibit itself expands upon a smaller version recently on display at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. The creator of the initial display, Angel Abcede, is the author of “House of Nurses: An American Journey,” which recounts the experiences of his mother and aunts coming to the United States and their lives as nurses from the Philippines.
“In writing this book, I saw how my family became part of American history,” Mr. Abcede said. “They were here when Pres. John F. Kennedy got shot. They watched Grace Kelley, Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews on the silver screen. They smelled the weed from Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. Many young Filipinos born here don’t know how intertwined with U.S. history our roots have become. So, we hope this exhibit will help them understand and gain a new sense of pride in being Americans.”
The initial exhibit displayed one of the last white nursing uniforms worn in the workplace, alongside one of the first versions of “scrubs” designed as a dress. It also featured a conference badge that Mr. Abcede’s mother wore when she represented Guam at a nursing conference in 1969.
FANHSC was started as the 29th chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society on June 30, 2012, to identify, gather, preserve and promote the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the Greater Chicago area.
In addition to FANHSC and Mr. Abcede, CIRCA Pintig will play an organizational role in the exhibit’s success. Its roots trace back to the early 1980s when its founders, newly arrived from the Philippines, received support and inspiration from the immigrant communities of Chicago. Born from the experiences of political refugees and economic migrants, it embodies the resilience, creativity and communal spirit of immigrant communities.
“Part of any effort to tell stories from the past is bringing them to life,” said Ginger Leopoldo, founder of CIRCA Pintig. “So, in addition to the exhibit itself, we will hold a series of presentations and lectures that will capture these nurses’ lives with storytelling and live action.”
A few of the artists participating in the lecture series include novelist Dwight Okita and playwrights Giovanni Ortega and R.J. Silva.
Main contacts for the Filipino nurses’ exhibit include Ms. Salazar, representing the FANHSC; Ms. Leopoldo of CIRCA Pintig; and Mr. Abcede, who will act as the lead coordinator for the nurses’ exhibit. For more information or to participate, please contact any one of these individuals via the emails noted above or visit http://www.fanhs-chicago.org.
