This exhibit was made possible through the generous support of the NTID President’s Office and RIT Libraries. Thanks to our NTID/RIT students, faculty, and staff for exploring Panara's collections and recommending selections for the following exhibits! The following individuals participated: Dr. Denise Kavin (Leadership in the Deaf Community), Professor Pamela Conley (Visual Expressions of Deaf Culture & Writing Seminar classes), Dr. Deirdre Schlehofer (Women and the Deaf Community), Professor Robyn Dean (Interpreting classes), and Professor John Monaco (Museum 241). Special thanks to community member and alumna, Stacy Lawrence, for her assistance with the final compilation of the digitized videos featured in the exhibits.
RIT Museum Exhibit: Hands in Motion: Celebrating Robert F. Panara (1920-2014)
Opens from August 2025 to May 2026 on the 3rd floor of the RIT Libraries. The kick-off reception is scheduled for Thursday, September 11, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Elizabeth Call, Archivist; Joan Naturale, NTID & Deaf Studies Archives Liaison Librarian; Bernard Hurwitz, Associate Vice President for NTID Administration; and John Panara, retired NTID faculty member and son, will make comments.
Explore Panara's contributions in Deaf Education, Theatre, Deaf Studies, Literature, Poetry, and Film Studies, and Baseball.
NTID Dyer Arts Exhibit at Williams Gallery: A Fearless Trailblazer: Dr. Robert F. Panara
Special thanks to the NTID Office of the President and the External Affairs Department for their generous support of the NTID exhibits. The Dyer Arts team, comprising Marissa Woodruff, Amara Engle, and Lauren Eddy, collaborated with community member and alumna Stacy Lawrence, NTID & Deaf Studies Archives Liaison Joan Naturale, and student assistant Jordan Leach to curate these exhibits. Opens Friday, June 27, 2025, and runs through Friday, September 19, 2025. The closing reception is scheduled for Friday, September 19, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC) Lounge Wall Exhibit: The Explosion of ASL Poetry
Special thanks to Professor Pamela Conley and her Writing Seminar class for their contributions to this exhibit, which includes the papers they wrote, which are available for review.
Opens from July 2025 to May 2026 and is available anytime for viewing the lounge wall exhibit.
Learn more about the birth of the ASL Poetry movement in which NTID played a pivotal role. Allen Ginsberg and Dr. Robert F. Panara performed their poetry at the Deaf Beat Poetry Summit (1984), discussing the importance of the 'image' in their works. The first ASL Poetry conference took place in 1987, featuring five talented ASL poets: Peter Cook, Patrick Graybill, Ella Mae Lentz, Debbie Rennie, and Clayton Valli.
Tours and follow-up classes are available for these exhibits. Contact Dr. Joan Naturale for more information.
Use of RIT resources is reserved for current RIT students, faculty
and staff for academic and teaching purposes only.
Please contact your librarian with any questions.
