Deaf Art Collections: Johnston, Paul

Born deaf, artist Paul Johnston attended the California School for the Deaf at Riverside and the Oregon School for the Deaf. In 1978, he became the first Deaf student to earn a BFA in furniture design and woodworking from Rochester Institute of Technology. He also studied drama at RIT and acted with the National Theater of the Deaf. In 1980 he went to Penn State University, earning his master’s and doctorate degrees in art education. Currently, Johnston teaches drawing and sculpture at Gallaudet University. He was one of 9 signatories to the De’VIA manifesto which occurred at the 1989 Deaf Way conference. He was the first to teach Deaf Art as a class. He considers himself an interdisciplinary artist, delving in visual arts, theatre, and poetry.