Fran Ledonio Flaherty

Fran (Ledonio) Flaherty is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and curator whose practice centers caregiving as cultural labor and aesthetic inquiry. A first-generation immigrant mother from the Philippines and a Deaf artist, Flaherty bridges migrant family relations, maternal feminism, and disability aesthetics across painting, sculpture, mixed media, performance, and immersive installation. She is the creator and curator of Anthropology of Motherhood, an internationally recognized project that elevates mundane caregiving into fine art and transforms everyday public spaces into restorative environments for caregivers and their dependents.

Flaherty serves as Assistant Professor of Digital Art and Emerging Media and Director of the FabLab at Carlow University (Pittsburgh, PA). Her work consistently addresses inequities related to race, class, gender, and disability, and she has organized nearly 100 exhibitions, workshops, and programs that foreground social justice and inclusion. A member of the #notwhite collective, Flaherty’s practice challenges dominant narratives of white supremacy through collaborative and site-responsive projects. Her performance piece Vacuum Sealed was presented at the West Chelsea Festival of Arts (New York City), and she regularly contributes to national conversations on accessibility and disability arts—as a speaker, mentor, and advocate for emerging Deaf and disabled artists.

Flaherty’s work is held in institutional and private collections including Smith College Art Museum, the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and Carnegie Mellon University Archives. Current projects include the Winds and Wonder exhibit at Arriviste Coffee (benefiting Casa San José) and the community-centered Pittsburgh Chandelier project. Through art and pedagogy, Flaherty amplifies marginalized voices and reimagines caregiving as a vital, transformative practice.

Photo courtesy of the artist