ID: a bricked wall in blue tone with yellow neon text: “Deaf Spotlight presents LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS with a teal “X”, a month of Deaf arts on stage, April 25 - May 18, 2025, 12th Ave Arts Studio, Seattle, WA.”
LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS
Back for 2nd time, Deaf Spotlight will host LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS, a month long festival featuring art, dance, visual vernacular and solo performances!
FESTIVAL LINEUP
Friday, April 25 | ART NIGHT OUT from 7 - 10 PM
Saturday & Sunday, April 26-27 | ART MARKET from 10 AM - 5 PM
Friday - Sunday, May 2-4 | URBAN JAZZ DANCE COMPANY from 7 - 8:30 PM
Friday - Sunday, May 9-11 | VISUAL VERNACULAR from 7 - 8:30 PM
Friday, May 16 | 8585 FISH from 7 - 8:30 PM
Saturday, May 17 | ASL CABARET from 7 - 8:30 PM
Sunday, May 18 | DEAF TALKS from 1-4 PM
Where: 12th Avenue Arts Studio Theater, 1620 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
LIMITLESS EXPRESSIONS is made possible with support from: 4Culture, ArtsFund, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Conru Foundation, Hearing Speech and Deaf Center (HSDC), 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.
ID: a LX Open Call poster.
LX 2025 OPEN CALL!
We are looking for talent like you to join and support our Limitless Festival from April 25 to May 8, (Friday to Sunday) at the 12th Avenue Arts Studio! More details available in each form below. Extended deadline: March 31, 2025!
TICKETS SALES OPEN NOW!
RADICAL HOSPITIALITY
We are using a different ticketing approach this year. We are using the 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.
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. We will refund if needed.
FESTIVAL LINEUP
April 25, 2025 | Art Night Out
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!
When tickets sales are ready, please secure a free ticket to book your spot for a creative night out with Deaf Spotlight!
Donations encouraged. All proceeds will go to Deaf Spotlight’s mission and activities. Let’s support more Deaf arts!
7-10 PM
April 26-27, 2025 | Art Market
LX ART MARKET is a free 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.
Please secure your ticket in advance.
Vendor lineup to come soon.
* Art Market Days are same (April 26 and 27), please select a specific day that you would like to attend*
10 AM - 5 PM
May 2-4, 2025 | Urban Jazz Dance Company
Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC) will be in town to show their new performance piece, “Listening Is Healing in Respect, a Call for Deaf Access to Mental Healthcare.” This piece was shown at, UJDC HOME SEASON 2024, Sin Invalid’s home season 2025, 1time shown in Seattle, WA , and this show can not be missed!
Come see their new powerful performance on the healing power of listening and respect in the Deaf community. We are spotlighting accessible mental healthcare and breaking communication barriers. Through captivating dance and artistic stories, we show the need for culturally appropriate services for Deaf individuals. Hearing allies of all kind are invited to see this powerful performance!
This performance is not suitable for youth under 8 due to heavy topics on the stage. * All performances are same, please select one performance date and time that you would like to attend.*
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:
Jamila Ouahid
Amina Ouahid
Justin Perez
Perseus McDaniel
* All performances are same, please select one performance date and time that you would like to attend.*
May 9-11, 2025 | Visual Vernacular
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.
7-10 PM
May 16, 2025 | 8585 Fish
May 17, 2025 | ASL CABARET
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.
7-10 PM
May 18, 2025 | DEAF TALKS
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.
1-4 PM
FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS
ID: a white background with a green logo with a shadow: "4" and CULTURE without shadow.
ID: a white background with blue logo "C" over "A&" and text: Office of Arts & Culture with a line over SEATTLE.
ID: a white background with orange "A" with two leaves sprouting from left and black capitalized text: ARTS (bold) FUND.
ID: a white background with a green logo with a shadow: "4" and CULTURE without shadow.
ID: a white background with black text: Conru Foundation with colorful leaves growing out of “r.”
ID: a blue circle with white text inside: HSDC, Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center.
ID: a white background with white cursive artwork inside a circle with different colors: blue, yellow, red, black and green with text following the curve at bottom: SEATTLE PEOPLE FUND.
ID: Deaf Spotlight Presents logo.
Theatre Archives
Deaf Spotlight believes in bringing authentic stories by Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing creatives to the stage. Please browse through our past productions.