Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture Unveils EnChroma Glasses for Color Blind Visitors
– MAC is First Museum in Spokane to Make Works ‘Color Accessible;’ Seven Local Color Blind People to Experience Special Glasses at Launch Event –
Spokane, WA & Berkeley, CA – September 28, 2023 – The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) and EnChroma® – creators of glasses for color blindness – today announced that the MAC will become the first museum in Spokane to permanently loan EnChroma glasses to enable color blind visitors to more fully experience colors in its exhibits. Guests who are red-green color blind can borrow the glasses to tour the museum and view its artwork in clear, vibrant color.
One in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%) are Color Vision Deficient (CVD); an estimated 350 million worldwide, 13 million in the United States, over 330,000 in Washington, and nearly 10,000 in the Spokane. While people with normal color vision see over one million shades of color, the color blind only see an estimated 10% of hues and shades (see images below). As a result, colors can appear dull, indistinct and difficult to discern.
Click here to see more images of the MAC’s artwork as its appears to the color blind.
“We’re excited to be able to offer this new service to color blind visitors to the MAC to enhance their museum-going experience and enjoyment of art and culture exhibitions,” said MAC Executive Director, Wes Jessup.
“Artists use color to tell a story and to evoke emotion, but much of this intent and information is unavailable to millions of people who are color blind,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “We are delighted that the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is supporting the needs of red-green color blind visitors and enabling a better understanding and appreciation of art for them. We hope that schools, universities, employers, libraries and other museums in Spokane will follow the MAC’s lead and improve ‘color accessibility’ at their organizations too.”
On Thursday, September 28 at 10:00 a.m., seven local color blind people will be the first to experience the glasses at the MAC at a special event (see backstories below).
1. Denise Pounds, age 41 is a family medicine doctor and a rare color blind woman, whose two young sons are also color blind.
How Color blindness Affects Her
“Color blindness can impact the clinical assessment of patients sometimes, like seeing jaundice of the skin or eyes, or identifying rashes, bruises, etc. Dressing can be a challenge. I tend to wear distinct solids to avoid mismatching with patterns. I have many color "disagreements" with family and friends, mostly related to blue vs purple and gray vs green.”
What she hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I want to experience colors in nature; see shades of green while hiking and variances of blue in the ocean. Even watching my kids’ sports events and having better contrast of color on the field or court would be great.”
2. Tony Caprile, age 67 is a carpenter and landlord with two color blind sisters (rare).
How Color blindness Affects Him
“I have difficulty choosing paint colors. When birding, I cannot find a red bird in a tree with green leaves; my wife has to point it out.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I hope the EnChroma glasses will help me compare and choose colors better. I’d like to wear them to visit art museums, see rainbows and go birdwatching.”
3. Justin Garrett is a 41 year-old psychiatrist from Liberty Lake.
How Color blindness Affects Him
“In medical school, I had some difficulty distinguishing colors looking at ear drums (ear infections) and identifying red vs green related to skin infections and abscesses. If there is a question of red/green differentiation in a patient, I rely on support staff or other physicians to assist. It has caused me issues in art classes and minor annoyances like describing the colors of clothes or houses to others.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I would like to see a great sunset on the top of Mt. Spokane and better distinguish reds and greens.”
4. Thomas Domrese is a 17 year-old color blind high school student whose twin brother, Josh, is also color blind.
How Color blindness Affects Him
“I got in trouble in kindergarten for being unable to complete tasks involving color. When driving, I can’t tell what color light is at the top. I mostly wear black and white so I don’t have to figure out clothing color choices.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I would like to wear EnChroma glasses at Disneyland and also just see how different everything looks.”
5. Joshua Domrese, age 17, is a color blind high school student and twin brother of Thomas Domrese.
How Color blindness Affects Him
“Coloring by numbers in elementary school was impossible. Art is difficult. Clothes choices and dressing is a challenge. Color coded items are difficult for me to understand. When learning how to drive I couldn’t tell which color was on top because red and green stoplights look the same.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I would like to wear EnChroma glasses at Disneyland to see all the colors.”
6. Lance Gurel, age 74, is a color blind retired second grade teacher.
How Color blindness Affects Him
“I’m terrible at picking out ripe fruit; I can't see greens and yellows on peaches. Trying to see red and green traffic lights is the worst.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I would like to see what I’ve been missing and visit a flower garden.”
7. Orion Koffman, age 37, is a color blind pharmacist.
How Color blindness Affects Him
“I’m horrible at cooking certain foods and I need to rely on other information to identify medications in my work. I have to be careful driving to ensure I see key colors.”
What he hopes to Experience with EnChroma Glasses
“I hope the glasses make certain shades easier to identify and I would love to visit a rainforest with them.”
EnChroma Color Accessibility Program™
EnChroma is the lead advocate for “color accessibility” through its EnChroma Color Accessibility Program™. The program helps over 400 schools, universities, state and national parks, libraries, museums, and other organizations purchase and loan EnChroma glasses to color blind students and guests, including 28 in Seattle. Through partnerships with leading vendors, scenic viewers adapted for the color blind with EnChroma lenses are also available. EnChroma’s program is also open to employers.
EnChroma’s patented lens technology is engineered with special optical filters that enable people with red-green color blindness to see an expanded range of colors more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly. More media materials are available here.
About the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Founded in 1916, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is the largest cultural organization in the Inland Northwest, serving more than 100,000 visitors a year.
To learn more, please visit www.fws.gov/refuge/detroit-river.
About EnChroma
Based in Berkeley, Calif., EnChroma produces leading-edge eyewear for color blindness and low vision, and other solutions for color vision, sold online and through Authorized Retailers worldwide. Invented in 2010, EnChroma’s patented eyewear combines the latest in color perception, neuroscience and lens innovation to improve the lives of people with color vision deficiency around the world. EnChroma received an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It earned the 2016 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in recognition of the firm’s innovative impact on the human experience through technology, and the 2020 Innovation Award in Life Sciences from the Bay Area’s East Bay Economic Development Alliance. Visit enchroma.com to learn more.
Media Contacts:
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Carol Summers
Director of Marketing & Communications
P: 509-363-5325
carol.summers@northwestmuseum.org