A woman sits on the grass and paints the bottom of a large wooden mural on a stand

A Mural Festival Celebrating Artists from the Deaf Community

September 18-20, 2026

NoBo Arts District

Boulder, Colorado

Photo by Armando Geneyro

A mural artist faces a crowd of people beside their mural panel

Photo by Armando Geneyro

The mission of the KissFist Mural Fest is threefold:

1) To celebrate Deaf culture through the arts.

2) To pay mural artists a fair wage for their work.

3) To create a temporary ‘third space’ that is fun, family friendly, and accessible to people with disabilities.

KissFist Mural Fest is a volunteer run, non-profit festival that is free to the public.

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE 2026 FESTIVAL!

The majority of every donation goes to paying artists from the Deaf community.

Black T-shirt with a line drawing of a TTY on top.
Light blue T-shirt with a black outline illustration of a TTY

MERCH! MERCH! MERCH!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

All purchases support the fest!

A beige sweatshirt featuring an artistic design with mushrooms, a vintage car, a woman with long hair, clouds, and stars, with the text "KissFist Mural Fest 2026" in the center.
T-shirt featuring a purple moon with a face and a closed eye, surrounded by space-themed illustrations such as planets, a rocket, a star, and a cloud with the text "Community Over Competition" in the center.
Light blue tank top with a graphic of a tty on the front.
A white T-shirt featuring a colorful, whimsical design with mushrooms, a river, a girl with brown hair sitting on a cloud, a butterfly, and a circular badge reading "KissFist Mural Fest 2026."
Light blue sweatshirt with a black line drawing of a TTY on the front.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Artist Applications for 2026 are currently closed. Follow our social media for up to date info on our vendor market applications, to be released later this summer.

  • Click here to see Dan explain!

  • September 18 - 20th, 2026 at the NoBo Arts District in Boulder, Colorado.

  • A ‘third space’ refers to a space outside of the home (the ‘first space’) and outside the workplace or school (the ‘second space’).

    It is a place where a community can gather to connect and chat. Examples: Deaf clubs, coffee shops, bars, etc.

  • No. All mural artists must be part of the Deaf community - this includes artists who identify as D/deaf, DeafBlind, HoH, Coda, or Goda.

    Hearing artists are welcome to attend the festival and participate in the various free activities we will have!

  • Yes! This festival is open to everyone. Come and enjoy live art making, shop the art market, have some coffee, and make new friends.

    The language of the festival is American Sign Language (ASL). Interpreters will be on site during programming for attendees who do not use ASL.

  • Email KissFistMural Fest@gmail.com

  • Kate Fitzpatrick is an artist and Coda based in Colorado. She has participated in several mural festivals throughout the state, which is where she got the inspiration to start KissFist Mural Festival. She is an alumni of the 2024-25 Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) Leadership Arts Cohort.

Image Description: An artist stands at her mural while glancing over her shoulder and signing with a festival attendee.

REVISIT THE 2025 FESTIVAL

Photo by Armando Geneyro

An artist stands in front of her mural panel which shows an elk under a moon.

"The 2025 festival created a beautiful sense of unity. People watching me paint told me they felt 'more human' and 'lively' just being there.

As a Deaf artist, being able to share my love of art with the community and see that immediate happiness was a gift."

- Ellen Mansfield, 2025 Mural Artist

An artist sits in front of her mural panel in a chair with a table. She is adding paint to a paintbrush.

“This festival allowed me to see what I'm capable of and made a difference in my self esteem as an artist.”

- Kari Bingham, 2025 Mural Artist

Thank you to our amazing 2026 Sponsors for valuing Deaf culture and the Arts.

Gallucci Homes Logo
Logo of Arvada Center with a purple and pink starburst design between the words 'Arvada' and 'Center'.
The logo of Convo in green text.
Cartoon owl with large yellow eyes, brown and beige feathers, and wings spread out, flying in the air.

KissFist Mural Fest is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.

Contributions for the charitable purposes of KissFist Mural Fest must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.