Filipino Nurses Exhibit at Trickster Cultural Center

Event Date: September 2 to October 3, 2026

The Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago (FAHSC) is proud to announce the “Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America” exhibit will be traveling to the Trickster Cultural Center, 190 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg, Illinois, opening to the public on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, and closing on Saturday, October 3, 2026.

In addition to the nursing exhibit, organizers will also dedicate a section of the gallery space to FAHSC’s “40 Years of Stories and History,” a look back at the stories, events, archival photos, material and film of FAHSC from its start in 1986 to the present. To bring the exhibit to life, organizers will host a community gathering to tell the stories of area nurses, as well as a gala and closing reception to honor FAHSC on its 40th anniversary.

Here’s more information on the upcoming events:
● Media Day: Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, from 3-5 p.m. Organizers will host local press members to help publicize the month-long residency at the Trickster Cultural Center.
● “Stories of Nurses” Lecture and Community Gathering: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, from Noon - 2 p.m. at the Trickster Cultural Center. Admission is free.
● Gala Night & Closing Ceremony: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Trickster Cultural Center.

For information and tickets visit: https://fanhschicago.wordpress.com/.

The collection shows a range of aspects of nurses’ lives, from the workplace to the home. One of the artifacts speaks to how cultural norms defined nursing as a female job. It’s an early “scrubs” uniform that instead of being unisex, is designed as a dress. While a hand-drawn portrait of a young nurse reveals the love of her fiancé back in the Philippines.

Melvin Almonguera of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago said Filipino nurses were “an indispensable part of the region’s healthcare system.” He congratulated organizers and helped cut a ceremonial ribbon during the exhibit’s first opening reception at the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago back in May of 2026.

“The history of Filipinos in health care here in the U.S. dates back over a century,” said Merle Salazar, a board member of FAHSC, 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.”

The Trickster Cultural Center is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, however, donations are appreciated.

KNOW MORE

After its run at the Trickster Cultural Center, a portion of the nurses exhibit will move to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, 723 W. Maxwell in Chicago, where it will remain until December. The Filipino nurses exhibit itself expands upon a smaller version on display in the fall of 2025 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. To dramatize the exhibit, CIRCA Pintig, Chicago’s premiere, Filipino theater company, will conduct live readings during the exhibit’s stay at Trickster. These readings are meant to bring immediacy and relevance to the collection’s artifacts. Both CIRCA Pintig and “House of Nurses: An American Journey” are co-sponsors and creators of the exhibit, along with FAHSC. FAHSC was founded in Chicago in 1986 by Estrella Alamar, with the Trickster exhibit marking four decades of collecting, preserving, and sharing the history and legacy of Filipinos in America, with milestones and events around the Greater Chicago area. FAHSC’s mission is to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States.