Art exhibit honors Maine’s Deaf community, victims of Lewiston shootings - Portland Press Herald

An exhibition titled “Unspoken Resilience: Healing from the Lewiston Shooting Two Years In” is on view at the University of New England Art Gallery in Portland, Maine. Co-curated by Michelle Ames and Meryl Troop, the show features work by deaf artists and craftspeople alongside color photographs of Lewiston by Michael Kolster. It was created in response to the October 2023 mass shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, which killed 18 people, four of whom were deaf. Ames, co-director of deaf services at Disability Rights Maine, was frustrated by the lack of ASL interpreters in media coverage and helped organize community support. The exhibition includes pieces that explore Deaf culture, healing, and the concept of De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art), a term defined in 1989 by deaf artists to express the Deaf experience through high contrast, intense colors, and symbolic imagery.

UNE Art Gallery show honors Deaf community and victims of the Lewiston shootings

An art exhibition titled "Unspoken Resilience: Healing from the Lewiston Shootings Two Years In" will open at the University of New England Art Gallery in Portland on September 25, 2025, coinciding with Deaf Culture Week. Co-curated by Michelle Ames and Meryl Troop, the show features works by deaf artists and artisans, alongside photographs by Michael Kolster documenting Lewiston, Maine, where a mass shooting in 2023 killed 18 people and injured 13. Four of the victims were deaf, and two other deaf individuals were injured, making this the only mass shooting in U.S. history to disproportionately impact the Deaf community. The exhibition runs through February 7, 2026, and includes contributions from American Sign Language interpreters.

Under Water, We Who Are Deaf Are Freer

"Unter Wasser sind wir Gehörlosen freier"

Artists Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski have been selected to represent Poland at the upcoming Venice Biennale with their collaborative project, "Liquid Tongues." The exhibition features elaborate video works that draw parallels between the ancient, complex vocalizations of whales and the visual communication of sign language. By filming underwater, the duo explores an environment where the traditional sensory advantages of hearing people are neutralized, and the gestural fluency of the Deaf community becomes a primary mode of connection.

Sign Language to Bring Art Exhibitions Closer... Ministry Invites Applications for Sign Language Video Production Institutions

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is accepting applications from ten institutions—including museums and art galleries—for its "2026 Exhibition Information Sign Language Video Production Support Project." Applications run from May 21 to June 12, with priority given to institutions offering permanent or long-term exhibitions. The ministry will evaluate regional balance, facility accessibility, video utilization potential, and exhibition suitability, and will survey the deaf community's viewing needs. The final list of selected institutions will be announced on June 22.