Poetry, comedy, art workshops & more: KC’s Deaf Cultural Festival returns to the Nelson
After being virtual for the past two years, Kansas City’s Deaf Cultural Festival is back in full swing at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum on Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visit the museum for free activities and performances celebrating and highlighting Deaf culture and American Sign Language. It’s open to all audiences, and you don’t have to identify as Deaf to join in on the fun.
“People should not be afraid to come if they don’t know anything about Deaf culture,” Jackie Niekamp, manager of community and access programs at the museum, said. “I think that this is a really wonderful opportunity to learn something new, meet new people and to experience how vibrant Kansas City’s Deaf culture and Deaf community is.”
All the activities are inside the museum or in the Bloch building, so you’ll have to get a free ticket here or at the museum entry point. Parking will cost $12 if you aren’t a member, but you can also use free street parking around the museum.
WHAT’S PLANNED?
A number of performances, workshops and art walks are planned for Saturday’s festival. ASL interpretation, voice interpretation and CART live captioning options are provided for each activity. Someone will be speaking as well, so if you don’t know ASL, you will be able to participate still.
Check out the schedule below:
An illustration workshop with Jennifer Tandoc from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Rockhill Room. It’s limited to 40 people.
ASL poetry and story performances from students from the Kansas School for the Deaf from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and again from 2 to 2:30 p.m. in Kirkwood Hall. The theme is “Come Full Circle.”
ASL performance from Deaf comedian Levi Anderson from 11 to 11:30 a.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Atkins Auditorium.
ASL storytelling sessions by Marie Qualls and Michelle Plummer, where you can learn ASL for the animals in the stories. The first session runs from 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. and repeats from 3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Spencer Art Reference Library.
An art walk with Deaf educator Micki Keck throughout the art gallery to learn more about the museum’s collection.
Sketchbook scavenger hunt in Kirkwood Hall all day.
Resource booths from The Whole Person, Kansas School for the Deaf and the Museum of Deaf History, Arts & Culture will be on hand to provide more information about Deaf culture in Kansas City.
The Smartify app will provide tours in American Sign Language while you’re at the museum. You can download the app on your phone or use the website to access the mobile tour.
“It’s really great to get it back here and especially with getting some visiting artists this time, too,” Niekamp said. “It’s kind of like how it was pre-pandemic.”
