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Filipino Nurses Exhibit - Lecture Series

Upcoming Lectures at the International Museum of Surgical Science, 1524 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, will bring to life the newly opened exhibit, "Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America." Here are upcoming dates and times.

Stories from the Past

Saturday, July 11, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Love Stories: Current and former nurses will gather to share stories of romance and how they met and fell in love with their significant others. A cache of over 300 letters will be introduced into the exhibit’s collection, which already features a hand-drawn portrait of a nurse wearing her nursing cap by her fiancé and now husband. The drawing is called, “My Valentine.” 

Hosts of this session will be members of the Filipino American National Historical Society Greater Chicago Chapter. It was started on June 30, 2012, with the purpose of identifying, gathering, preserving and promoting the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the Greater Chicago area.

Dramatic Reading: CIRCA Pintig – Stories of Nurses

Friday, July 17, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

The regional Filipino theater company, CIRCA Pintig, will be collecting and developing stories from current and retired nurses to create a series of monologues and short plays. The ongoing project will feature company members enacting selected stories for an evening of live performance.

CIRCA-Pintig’s roots trace back to the early 1980s when its founders, newly arrived from the Philippines, found support and inspiration in the immigrant communities of Chicago. Born from the experiences of political refugees and economic migrants, the organization embodies the resilience, creativity and communal spirit of immigrant communities. The name “Pintig,” meaning “heartbeat” or “pulse” in Filipino, reflects our commitment to keeping the vibrant pulse of immigrant cultures alive and strong in America’s multicultural landscape. For over three decades, CIRCA-Pintig has been dedicated to empowering immigrant communities, honoring their founders’ experiences, and paying forward the gifts of life and love that sustained them in their early years.

Dramatic Reading: CIRCA Pintig – Stories of Nurses II

Thursday, July 30, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

This session will be the second of two, where the regional Filipino theater company, CIRCA Pintig, will be collecting and developing stories from current and retired nurses to create a series of monologues and short plays. See the full description in the entry above.

Dramatic Reading: House of Nurses, the Play

Friday, July 31, 6 pm. – 8 p.m.

Angel Abcede, author of House of Nurses: An American Journey, has turned his book into a play, workshopping the script during this lecture session. Actors will bring to life the lives of three Filipino sisters, 10 years apart in age, who first experience America over three distinct decades—the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Mr. Abcede has spent most of his professional career as a freelance writer but took a permanent job at a business magazine targeting owners and operators of convenience stores. He has won several business press awards for his journalistic achievements.

In 2018, a visit to his ailing aunt led to a long discussion with his cousin, Elizabeth “Lilibet” Correos-Joseph about their family’s history. Angel Jr.’s mother was the younger half-sister of Lilibet’s mother, with the older sister helping the younger land her first U.S. job in Guam. An afternoon of looking at old photo albums led to the writing of House of Nurses: An American Journey, and a rediscovery of how Filipinos helped shaped America today.

Closing Reception

Sunday, August 2, 2026 1-3 p.m.

The Filipino American National Historical Society Greater Chicago Chapter (FANHSC) will close its residency at the International Museum of Surgical Science with music, food and festivities, inviting back several of our lecture series and dramatic reading speakers to relive many of the most memorable stories told during the exhibit’s tenure.

The closing will celebrate the ongoing collaboration between FANHSC, CIRCA Pintig and House of Nurses, as well as the support of the museum itself. Organizers encourage members of the public to visit the exhibit before the collection moves to the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus and then the FANHSC studio at the Mana Contemporary building in Chicago.

LATEST ARTICLE (Dated May 17, 2026):

Lives of Filipino Nurses Examined 

Through Newly Opened Museum Exhibit  

CHICAGO – At a recent opening reception, attendees viewed the unveiling of an exhibit examining the lives of Filipino nurses and revealing the confluence of global and political powers that encouraged their migration to the United States.

With the Philippines funneling more workers into the U.S. healthcare system than any other country, a new exhibit at the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago both defines 

and deconstructs an emerging stereotype: the Filipino nurse. 

Held on Friday, May 15, 2026, the reception highlighted the tangled history of colonialism, misogyny and racism powering this unique migration story. “Unheard Voices of Care: Filipino Nurses in America,” will run from May 15 to August 2, 2026, at the surgical museum, 1524 N. Lake Shore Drive in the Windy City’s Gold Coast neighborhood. It features hospital uniforms, medical equipment, awards, photographs and personal mementos, as well as a full schedule of lectures, panels and dramatic presentations designed to bring the collection to life.

The collection shows a range of aspects of nurses’ lives, from the workplace to the home. One of the artifacts is a letter from President Barack Obama, granting veterans’ status to a nurse who worked under American supervision during World War II. 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 reception.

“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.”

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.”

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.

“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.”

For more information on the exhibit and lecture series, visit https://imss.org/unheard-voices-of

care-filipino-nurses-in-america/. 

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