AboutIsland of Listeners
Island of Listeners is the ongoing collaboration of blind storyteller Kim Kilpatrick and visual artist Rachel Gray, who work together to create accessible art that can be experienced through multiple senses. Their collaboration is rooted in disability arts, accessibility, and the sharing of underrepresented voices and experiences.
Through their partnership, they seek to model new ways of working that are inclusive and responsive to different bodies, minds, and modes of communication. Island of Listeners has been presented at the Ottawa Art Gallery, the McGill International Palliative Care Congress, and the Bruyère Hospital.
Who We Are
Rachel Gray
Rachel Gray is a Dora Award-nominated Canadian interdisciplinary director, producer, and writer based in Ottawa whose work spans film, opera, visual art, and performance. Her collaborative practice centres disability aesthetics and accessibility as creative forces, often blending puppetry, dance, storytelling, and experimental forms. Her films have toured nationally, including Dreamscapes, and she is the co-creator of Project INK, a multidisciplinary performance group that combines live drawing, shadow puppetry, dance, storytelling, and live music.
Rachel also works in a longstanding creative duo with composer Rebecca Gray, creating contemporary operas including Raccoon Opera. Her graphic novel Jess was adapted into a musical work through Pacific Opera Victoria and received Opera America's Award for Digital Excellence in 2023. A founding member of disability arts collective Ghost Rooster and former Artistic and Executive Director of BEING Studio, Rachel's work has been presented nationally and internationally and is grounded in creating accessible spaces for expression, collaboration, and connection.
Kim Kilpatrick
Kim Kilpatrick is a blind storyteller, performer, music therapist, and accessibility educator based in Ottawa, with more than 20 years of professional experience. Through wit, warmth, and exuberance, she creates vivid stories that challenge assumptions about disability and invite audiences into deeper listening, understanding, and connection.
Kim has created and performed four one-woman shows exploring different aspects of life as a blind person, including navigating the world with a guide dog, living through COVID with a disability, and disability advocacy. Her work has been presented at venues including the NAC Fourth Stage and the Gladstone Theatre, as well as in Montreal, Toronto, and communities across Ontario.
Alongside her artistic practice, Kim works as an accessibility consultant, workshop leader, and performer with arts organizations and collectives across Canada. Her collaborators have included the National Arts Centre, Ottawa Art Gallery, City of Ottawa museums, Ingenium, Museum of Nature, Gallery 101, Bank of Canada Museum, Ottawa Fringe Festival, GCTC, Propeller Dance, Being Studio, Ottawa Storytellers, Island of Listeners, Project INK, and Ghost Rooster Collective. She has also co-founded Accessible Arts Ottawa.
Kim is a proud artist with MASC and Radical Connections, and her work brings together storytelling, disability advocacy, accessibility, and creative practice.