KCTV 5: Reframing difference. Traveling portrait exhibit highlights hundreds of faces with cleft lips and palates
A powerful traveling art exhibition is making its way across the United States, placing hundreds of faces with cleft lips and palates front and center.
The portrait series is designed to bring patient stories into the spotlight, offering support and shifting how society perceives facial differences.
The collection was created by a mother and artist whose own daughter was born with a cleft lip. Now touring the U.S. for the first time, the artist hopes to challenge conventional beauty standards and promote inclusivity.
Hannah Bergman emphasized that the goal of the exhibit is to ease the journey for patients and families.
“The patient wasn’t born broken. They just happened to be a beautiful person who’s born with a cleft, and our whole team exists to try to make that process a little easier for them,” Bergman said.
Artist Katie Manning hopes that the United States tour will inspire viewers to embrace diversity and connect through shared humanity.
See the full story via KCTV 5