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NEW YORK—Artwork can transport the viewer into a whole new world of understanding and inspiration. When you are color blind, artwork can seemingly be out of reach as vibrant colors appear faded and dark. As a result, many people are unable to fully experience exhibits by masters such as Van Gogh or Pollack—that is until organizations like Visit Seattle partnered with adaptability tools to help provide color-blind visitors with an authentic experience.



Ali Daniels said the ability to provide visitors of local art installations the technology to fully immerse themselves in the experience removes barriers and creates an atmosphere of inclusion.



Ali Daniels is the senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Visit Seattle. She said the organization recently partnered with Enchroma, makers of glasses that allow people with color blindness to experience the vibrancy of reds and oranges, blues and purples or more vibrant greens, in the same way as people unaffected by the condition.

There are more than 350 million people in the world who live with color blindness. Of these, one in 12 are men and 1 in 200 are women. In the U.S. alone, there are 13 million people living with color blindness.

The EnChroma Color Accessibility Program partners with schools, libraries, museums, parks, universities and tourism departments to provide color-blind people with glasses to allow them to fully participate in programs and exhibits.

Daniels said the ability to provide visitors of local art installations the technology to fully immerse themselves in the experience removes barriers in the same way that offering other accessibility tools or identifying pronouns creates an atmosphere of inclusion.

The organization recently provided color-blind glasses to a group of individuals and invited them to tour Chihuly Garden and Glass. The results provided them with the affirmation that offering color-blind glasses was a necessary step in creating a more inviting space for visitors.

“What a joy, to a whole population that couldn’t have been able to experience it the way that they could at that moment. We worked on a really important moment to launch this knowing that this was essential,” she said, adding that the city now offers the technology at 26 venues. Visitors simply need to request a pair of glasses upon arrival and can use them throughout their experience. “So 26 venues is the largest collection of EnChroma glasses in the world, which is wonderful.”

Similar programs have been established at museums and art galleries in dozens of cities around the world including Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Centre Pompidou, Van Gogh Museum, Gallerie d’Italia, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and U.S. Botanic Garden.

Daniels believes this small act of inclusion can have lasting positive effects on people, as it breaks down barriers and creates renewed opportunities to welcome people who would otherwise not be able to enjoy these spaces.

“This is an invitation to make sure when you invite someone in you don’t serve burgers to vegetarians, we all know that. We don’t invite them to see a colorful, beautiful place without giving them the tools that they can truly appreciate them with,” she said.