Live & Local: Artists from the Deaf Community Put Their Brushes to the Wall at The Inaugural KissFist Mural Fest

Kate Fitzpatrick: The word KissFist, the sign is basically exactly what the word says. It means you really adore something, you cherish something, you're a really big fan of it, you love it. So when we started to really develop the festival, it really was the only name we even thought of and considered because it felt so right. So that fell into place very, very easily because that's the whole goal here with the festival too, that it's something that is wonderful vibes. It's a fun and just positive environment where the focus and the centering is still on the Deaf community, Deaf culture and artists from the Deaf community.

Abi Clark: You have quite a bit of artists that are participating and they're all Colorado based, or are you having artists come through from other cities? 

Kate: We have artists coming from other cities. We did prioritize Colorado based artists, so we wanted at least 50% and I think we're right at 50%. Actually, we might be a little over because we have two students from Rocky Mountain Deaf School who are going to be painting a mural together and then four or five from Colorado and then the others are from East Coast, West Coast, Pacific Northwest, coming into town for this. 

Abi: There was a quote that was on the press release for the exhibition that y'all are partnering with Anythink Libraries (on), and we'll get to that in a moment, but there was a quote, when it comes to the Deaf community, there's a lot of isolation due to audism. Can you speak on that and why something like this is so important? Are there hurdles that Deaf artists have to go through to get their art out there like that? 

Kate: Yes, definitely. And I will preface by saying I'm myself am a CODA, so I'm a child of Deaf adults, but I'm hearing, so anything I'm speaking on in terms of those hurdles, I personally have not had to experience, but I've heard from family members from other artists who are deaf or hard of hearing, and I've witnessed barriers myself when I've requested access for just general, you should be accessible and the pushback that I've gotten. So I know it's much, much worse for other artists, but in terms of the isolation, there's a term called Dinner Table Syndrome, which is very well known within the Deaf community where it's like oftentimes a Deaf child grows up in a family where they are the only Deaf person and so they're sitting at a dinner table, everybody's chatting and connecting and bonding around them and they're totally left out of the equation. And that unfortunately is a very, I think, common and shared experience that a lot of adults experienced and still do in some ways. So part of the reason and the intention with this festival was designing it to be in person. That was very important. And then in a space, so where at the RiNo Art Park where everybody would be together, so the artists are all painting murals on portable walls, essentially like four by eight foot walls, which allows us to all be in the same space. While it would be great to be on big walls all over the city, what that would mean is everybody's not connecting in the same place. I've been a part of festivals where I have a great time, I'm painting on a wall, but I don't meet any of the other artists. And so we wanted to avoid that with this because of the history of things like isolation and Dinner Table Syndrome and all that in the Deaf community specifically. So it is very much designed to be like, everybody come, bring your hearing family members, bring everybody you know, come and be in this space together and know that you didn't have to go out of your way to have to request access, you know that this is centered on our culture and our community. And then we will have interpreters for people who don't know sign language. We asked all the artists what access needs they might have after they were accepted. So there was no sense of like, are they rejecting me because of this and that kind of thing. I mean, I've heard stories of incredibly successful professional Deaf artists who still, they'll have whole exhibits in a museum and not be provided interpreters. So that's when we talk about the barriers and things like that, that is still in 2025 very much happening. So this is antithesis to that. 

Abi: That's not right. I've definitely heard that from another artist and she's going blind in real time and she's also working for the rights of those that need these extra accessibilities and some of the hurdles, it's hard to believe that we still have them in a day and age like 2025 when there's so much communication. There's so much more visibility, but it's still not enough. So these kinds of experiences where you get to connect with our Deaf community around the artwork that they're making, which what a way to connect through the visual work that's going to be happening at this festival. 

Kate: Definitely. And rooted in joy ultimately too. There is a space for all the different emotions and experiences, but for this festival specifically, we want that to be at the heart of it because that is a beautiful form of resistance too. And the face of so many different, like you were saying, oppressive things that really don't need to exist. We have no need for it. We have the technology to... but yet here we are. 

Abi: Well, it sounds like it's going to be a beautiful welcoming event at RiNo Art Park (October) 17 through the 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, it's super accessible, lots of sidewalks, seating, playgrounds for the kids. And like you said, the murals are on stands along the grass so folks can engage with them more close up than a wall on a building. Would love to dig into the schedule. Of course you'll be able to live-watch these artists painting. But there's a few other partnerships that are coming into play 

Kate: Saturday we partnered with Deaf Artisan Market Day, which is a business based in Austin, but they host artisan markets all over the United States. And so this is the first one they're doing in Colorado. So we'll have an artisan market inside the trust house running alongside us. Artists are outside painting, we'll also have traveling like Coffee cart, will be there Saturday and Sunday. And then of course we've partnered with Anythink who have been super supportive from the jump. And the exhibit we're doing with them will open the week after the festival and that will run through the remainder of the year. And one of our artists will be painting a mural in one of their locations too. 

Abi: Like you said, a partnership with Anythink for an exhibition that's happening the 25 of October through to the 19 of December. And so you'll be featured, your work will be featured as well as Nico Cathcart and Ellen Mansfield. And we'll get into the behind the scenes look - that must have been a really amazing window to share with community outside of just the festival. 

Kate: Yes, very excited about it because one of the questions I had before I started doing murals was like, how does this happen? How do you have small idea become big wall idea basically? And that's something that when I'm actively painting a mural, people will stop and ask all the time and how do you proportion this, et cetera. And so it's a really cool, and it's a really visual process. So a big part of the exhibit with Anythink is showing that from beginning sketches to how do you get it on the wall and then what it looks like in progress. So you'll see versions of my murals like that and Nico's as well. And then Ellen is the artist who will be painting a mural in the children's section of the Brighton location of Anythink and we'll also have, I believe in their computer lab, some of my workup, Nico's work, and then original pieces by some of the other KissFist Mural Fest artists as well. 

Abi: Original works, mockups, process, photos, videos, all available for folks to see the behind the scenes work of putting on a festival like this. And then the unveiling of the mural is happening at this celebration on the 12 of November - families welcome to that too. That's starting at 11:00 a.m.