Filipina artist’s ‘Deaf Brown American Mom’ on exhibit in Pittsburgh

Artist Fran Ledonio Flaherty. CONTRIBUTED

More than 70 artworks by Filipina artist Fran Ledonio Flaherty are on exhibit in SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, featuring silk prints, photographs, 3D prints, digital fabricated pieces and acrylic paintings.

Through humor, technology and history, her exhibition examines her experiences as a Deaf Brown Artist Mom and finding her place in the city she has called  home for 30 years.

Included in “Deaf Brown American Mom” is a smaller exhibit called “Lockdown,” which references politically charged events such as several trials related to the Black Lives Matter movement, mask and vaccination protests, and the riots that took place on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol.

Fran Ledonio Flaherty’s “Baranggay” (Village), a wall-mounted series of laser-cut hexagons with hand-drawn art inspired by traditional Filipino village designs. SCREENSHOT

It also features “Baranggay” (Village), a wall-mounted series of laser-cut hexagons with hand-drawn art inspired by traditional Filipino village designs. The piece is about “what it means to be an American right now, being deaf, being a woman, being brown, so it’s kind of like trying to bridge the past and the present.”

Flaherty, who has a degenerative hearing condition and uses a hearing aid, founded Carnegie Mellon University’s Digital Arts Studio in 2010, and since 2014 has taught art at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

Her most widely known exhibit is the Anthology of Motherhood, an installation that has been part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival since 2016. It is designed as an art space, interactive amenity, and a place of respite for families with young children. She is also a member of the art collective, #notwhite.

Flaherty says she is “always straddling between identities: Pittsburgher versus Filipino-Chinese immigrant, hearing versus deaf, mother versus artist, disability advocate versus disabled person. I am often viewed as an outsider in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is my home. It is the city that I have lived most of my life and yet I often feel unwelcome.”

SPACE Gallery

812 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Regular hours:
Wednesday – Thursday: 11 am – 6 pm
Friday – Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm