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.