ID: a banner with white wall with black brushstroke and Deaf Spotlight logo in the middle.
Mission: Deaf Spotlight inspires and showcases Deaf Culture and Sign Languages through the arts.
Vision: Deaf Spotlight illuminates the artist within every Deaf person.
ID: Seattle Deaf Film poster of 2026 SDFF Film Lineup with a crow astronaut perched on an octopus’ tentacles curling across with some popcorn floating in the starry space.
CHECK OUT THE FINAL FILM ROSTER
Seattle Deaf Film Festival is excited to curate 38 films from 12 countries this April. Congrats, filmmakers! Please visit our SDFF page for more details!
ID: flyer in tones of purple and white, with "Deaf Arts Leadership" on top with multiple paper airplanes flying through the title. Text above: "Soar together." More paper airplanes with individuals riding them below it. Text underneath: "Apply by February 13th. Www.DeafArtsLeadership.org." On the bottom are the logos for Borealis Philantthropy, Urban Jazz Dance Company, and Deaf Spotlight.
Launching Deaf Arts Leadership
Deaf Arts Leadership (DAL) is a new pilot program by Urban Jazz Dance Company and Deaf Spotlight. DAL aims to increase the pool of Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled and Hard of Hearing leaders in the arts and culture sector across the United States. Many thanks to the Borealis Philanthropy Disability Inclusion Fund for supporting this project.
In the DAL program, you will:
Learn the business side of the creative sector: fundraising, marketing, budgeting, strategic planning, and fostering equity in the arts ecosystem
Practice antiracism and social justice
Blend theory and real world experience to lead in the arts and culture sector
Strengthen your personal growth, leadership, and event planning skills
Participate in professional development workshops, panels, events, networking opportunities, etc.
Receive mentorship from arts and creative professionals in sign language
Application, and more details available here: DeafArtsLeadership.org
ID: Infographic with rows of colorful blocks with text inside. Across the top is a purple and pink banner with the Deaf Spotlight logo on the left side, “Inspiring and showcasing Deaf culture and Sign Languages through the arts”. Below, “2026 Events”. Text inside the blocks, from top to bottom: Taxes & Finance Planning Workshop March 22; Seattle Deaf Film Festival - IN PERSON, April 10-12; Seattle Deaf Film Festival - STREAMING, April 13-26; Art & Design Workshop, April 19; Grant Writing Workshop, May 16; Art & Design Workshop, May 17; Youth Theater & ADWAS Camp, Summer 2026; Nature Art Walk, July 11; Art & Design Workshop, Aug 9; Nature Art Walk, Sept 19; Art & Design Workshop, Sept 27; Deaf Lit Festival, Oct 9-11; Halloween Party, Oct 25; BIPOC Deaf Arts Grant, Nov 2026; Subject to change. Please check our website for updates (QR code block).” Text across the pink & purple bottom: For updates & information: DeafSpotlight.org , info@deafspotlight.org .
Check out our 2026 events!
Mark your calendar! Seattle Deaf Film Festival is coming back for the 8th time! Fun professional development workshops to elevate your creative career and skills! Who will be featured at the Deaf Lit Fest this year? Come find out. Get ready for Halloween Party! Amazing opportunities for BIPOC Deaf artists!
Check out our upcoming events for dates on the flyer. See you at the next event.
ID: Flyer for “Free Community Passes”, stylized as yellow ticket stubs with a light blue background with text inside the stub. Further text below: “To Seattle Art Museum or Seattle Asian Art Museum for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing members! Tinyurl.com/SAM-DS2026”. Logos for the Seattle Art Museum and Deaf Spotlight on the bottom.
Free Seattle Art Museum / Seattle Asian Art Museum tickets to Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing community members!
Back for 4th year, Deaf Spotlight will distribute FREE museum passes to Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing community members through the Seattle Art Museum Community Pass Program.
Please fill out the form with your name, your mailing address, and how many passes you would like to get. Each person can get up to 2 community passes. Each community pass will give you 6 tickets each. Your passes must be redeemed by the end of year 2026.
The passes can be redeemed at either locations: Seattle Art Museum (Downtown) OR Seattle Asian Art Museum (Volunteer Park) during regular hours.
Many handwaves to Seattle Art Museum’s Community Pass Program for making this accessible for all!
ID: a light blue banner with 2025 BIPOC Deaf Arts recipients, with photographs of the four recipients in a row on top of colorful half-circles, with a name attached to each photo. From left to right: Daniel Katz-Herandez, Felicia B. Kohls, Kami Padden, and Rydrea Walker.
Handwaves to the BIPOC Deaf Arts Grant Recipients 2025
Deaf Spotlight is excited to announce the 2025 recipients of the BIPOC Deaf Arts Grant! From 29 applicants, we narrowed it to 4 best candidates based on the strength and diversity of their portfolios, clarity of their plans/goals and potential momentum to push their work forward with our funding.
The recipients are:
Daniel Katz-Hernandez | Visual Arts
Felicia B. Kohls | Literary Arts
Kami Padden | Visual Arts
Rydrea Walker | Media Arts
We’re thrilled to continue this grant to support the next group of emerging and experienced BIPOC Deaf artists. Handwaves! We can’t wait to see what they create with this grant.
PURPOSE
The Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Deaf Arts Grant is an annual program that provides financial support for emerging and established artists to further advance their careers.
Deaf Spotlight’s mission is to inspire and showcase Deaf Culture and Sign Languages through the arts. The Deaf Arts Grant will make a crucial difference for BIPOC Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled and Hard of Hearing artists to thrive in the challenging arts field.
To sign up for grant updates and opportunities, please email BIPOCDeafArtsGrant@deafspotlight.org.
ID: Seattle Deaf Film poster of a headshot of a purple astronaut helmet with text: “Seattle Deaf Film Festival” and text: “April 2026” above the helmet. Orange pink octopus’ tentacles spreading from the bottom of the helmet with some popcorn floating in the starry space.
Open Call for Film Submissions is now closed.
Thank you to all filmmakers who submitted their films to our festival! We have received many films this year!
We are thrilled that more filmmakers are creating Deaf cinema to share with the world! We will announce the final lineup in early 2026.
See you at the Northwest Film Forum or virtually in April 2026!
Questions, email sdff@deafspotlight.org.
ID: Deaf Spotlight Annual report: 13 pages with a mixture of text and graphic illustrations in multiple colors in vertical view. The title page has a white background with two rectangular columns on a slant in three colors: orange, blue and dark blue. Top one extends from middle-right to top left corner. The second one starts in the lower right corner to middle of the bottom half. Deaf Spotlight logo in against a blue square in upper right corner. On same column, orange rectangle with black text “Annual Report” Underneath orange is dark blue square with white text “20.” On second column, orange square with white text: “24.
Read our Annual Report 2024!
