Deaf Spotlight Presents LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS
April 25 to May 18, 2025
Back for 2nd time, Deaf Spotlight will host LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS, a month long festival featuring art, dance, visual vernacular and solo performances!
FESTIVAL LINEUP
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Friday, April 25 | ART NIGHT OUT from 7 - 10 PM
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Saturday & Sunday, April 26-27 | ART MARKET from 10 AM - 5 PM
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Friday - Sunday, May 2-4 | URBAN JAZZ DANCE COMPANY from 7 - 8:30 PM
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Friday - Sunday, May 9-11 | VISUAL VERNACULAR from 7 - 8:30 PM
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Friday, May 16 | 8585 FISH from 7 - 8:30 PM
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Saturday, May 17 | ASL CABARET from 7 - 8:30 PM
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Sunday, May 18 | DEAF TALKS from 1-4 PM
LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS is made possible with support from: 4Culture, ArtsFund, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Peoples Fund and Washington State Arts Commission.
Attendees with other access needs can submit a request at least two weeks in advance by emailing access@deafspotlight.org.
Deaf Spotlight inspires and showcases Deaf Culture and Sign Languages through the arts. A nationally recognized leader in Deaf arts, the organization emerged from the first Seattle Deaf Film Festival in 2012. Programming has since expanded to include theater productions / festivals; curated visual art exhibitions; and workshops for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled and Hard of Hearing artists.
RADICAL HOSPITIALITY
We are using a different ticketing approach this year. We are using Radical Hospitality Ticket Program, inspired by Sound Theatre Company and other organizations to make our event more inclusive and welcome for all. Please get the ticket that you are financially comfortable to buy.
There are no assigned seatings at any performances at the Limitless Expressions Festival. We will prioritize seating for disabled community members.
NO LATE ENTRY POLICY
TBD.
CONTAGIOUS ILLNESSES SAFETY POLICY
To ensure a successful and healthy experience for all, Deaf Spotlight has a request for audiences like you: when attending a performance at the LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS Festival, we encourage you to wear masks. Masks will be provided at the door.
We ask that you help us protect the health for everyone this year. Anyone who is sick or was sick with ANY CONTAGIOUS ILLNESSES (flu, cold, COVID-19, RSV, etc) or recently in contact with someone with ANY CONTAGIOUS ILLNESSES in the last 14 days— including staff, artists, and community members — should not come to the festival.
Deaf Spotlight asks that all audience members be respectful of this decision. Deaf Spotlight reserves the right to require health and safety protocols for all performances.
If you feel sick with any illnesses (flu, cold, RSV, COVID-19), we request that you do not attend any performances in person.
If you are unable to attend due to your illness, we will issue you a ticket refund. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to welcoming you soon.
4.25: ART NIGHT OUT
Fri, Apr 25 at 7pm
Please join us to kick off the Limitless Expressions Festival on Friday, April 25 at 7 PM. Come try different art mediums and participate in a community mural project! Fun activities for all ages! Desserts provided!
FREE EVENT. PLEASE RSVP AHEAD.
SUGGESTED DONATIONS AT THE DOOR. Thank you in advance.
4.26: ART MARKET
Sat, Apr 26 at 10am
LX ART MARKET is a family-friendly shopping event highlighting emerging and current Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled and Hard of Hearing artists and makers! Discover their art, craft, and products in person. This event is FREE to the public and will take place in Seattle, Washington.
Vendor lineup to come soon.
FREE EVENT. PLEASE RSVP AHEAD.
SUGGESTED DONATIONS AT THE DOOR. Thank you in advance.
4.27: ART MARKET
Sun, Apr 27 at 10am
5.2: URBAN JAZZ DANCE COMPANY
Fri, May 2 at 7pm
Urban Jazz Dance Company will be in town to show their new performance piece, “Listening Is Healing in Respect, a Call for Deaf Access to Mental Healthcare.”
Come see their new powerful performance on the healing power of listening and respect in the Deaf community. They will spotlight accessible mental healthcare and breaking communication barriers. Through captivating dance and artistic stories, we show the need for culturally appropriate services for Deaf individuals.
Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC) uses the artistic talents of our company members to educate audiences about what going on in the world; empowering the deaf community, advocating for deaf rights, women rights, disability rights and working to eliminate discrimination, prejudice, and more. We also use dance as an expression of healing after many types of abuse. We visit centers, children's schools, university plus state college and even seniors' homes.
We host educational AND pure entertainment shows at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and Riverside, along with many other hearing schools, and perform and offer workshops in London, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Africa, and all over USA. We also host an annual show at the Bay Area Deaf International Dance Festival in San Francisco, CA to create platform for wonderful Deaf culture inside Deaf culture.
MC: Irvine Stewart. Irvine Stewart, MSW, LCSW begun his performing arts career at Gallaudet University. He found The Wild Zappers in 1990. Mr had danced for many dance company in Washington DC and St Louis, MO. Mr Stewart was seen in Deaf Spotlight’s Beautiful Boy among his many acting endeavors. He is also a free-lance writer.
5.3: URBAN JAZZ DANCE COMPANY
Sat, May 3 at 7pm
5.4: URBAN JAZZ DANCE COMPANY
Sun, May 4 at 1pm
5.9: VISUAL VERNACULAR
Fri, May 9 at 7pm
Deaf Spotlight is excited to welcome the lineup full of amazing local and out of state visual vernacular (VV) performers! VV is a cinematic storytelling technique using physical expressions of body movement and motion in a four-dimensional environment: cuts, angles, zooms, and rhythm. Come see them in action!
Performer Lineup:
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Jamila Ouahid
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Amina Ouahid
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Justin Perez
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Perseus McDaniel
5.10: VISUAL VERNACULAR
Sat, May 10 at 7pm
5.11: VISUAL VERNACULAR
Sun, May 11 at 1pm
5.16: 8585 FISH
Fri, May 16 at 7pm
MC: Buddy Elledge
Inspired by Salon of Shame with a great tagline: Exploiting Your Misspent Youth for Laughs. We want to create a special evening full of laughter, empathy and connections over our embarrassing youth, all in sign language!
For non-signers, 8585 FISH is written ASL slang used by Deaf people that can have a lot of nuances and has no direct English translation. 8585 can mean whoa, in awe, incredible, wow! FISH (sometimes spelled FSH) can mean no way, I don’t believe it, are you serious?
We invite you to join us as we drink and exploit our younger selves for your entertainment! The idea is simple: folks read on stage from their worst adolescent writing, including middle school diaries, high school poetry, unsent letters, etc.
READER LINEUP TBA.
5.17: ASL CABARET
Sat, May 17 at 7pm
Come see a different form of theatrical entertainment featuring sign language with music! From pop to ballad to rock, get ready to enjoy songs coming alive on the stage.
Performer lineup to come soon.
5.18: DEAF TALKS
Sun, May 18 at 1pm
WSRID & Deaf Spotlight are excited to bring back Deaf Talks. Deaf Talks focuses on highlighting the kaleidoscope of insight and experiences within the Deaf/DeafBlind communities. This is a community event for sharing ideas, exploring new concepts and introducing attendees to the latest knowledge, concerns, and inspirations in the Deaf/ DeafBlind communities.
Lineup to come soon.
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