The Stallery and EnChroma Improve Gallery Experience for Colour Blind Visitors
– The Stallery is the First Gallery in Hong Kong to Offer EnChroma Colour Blind Glasses to Enable Accessibility to the Arts for the People of Hong Kong –
Hong Kong, China & Berkeley, California – September 1, 2023 – The Stallery is excited to announce today that colour blind visitors are now able to borrow special EnChroma glasses for colour blindness during their visits to all upcoming exhibitions at the pop and street art gallery.
The collaboration between The Stallery and EnChroma enables the provision of colour blind glasses to the public during their visits beginning with the upcoming group exhibition (WOA ’23) from September 27 until October 22 2023. The two organizations will also be launching an exciting exhibition of artwork by colour blind artists only in January 2024. Local and international artists with Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) will be invited to come together in Hong Kong to exhibit and discuss their works for the first time to raise awareness and promote dialogue around colour blindness.
On Tuesday, September 12 at 7pm, colour blind individuals including Ernest Chang (IG @iamernestchang), artist and founder of The Stallery, a local artist (IG @demais.hk), and a public participant, will try on the EnChroma glasses for the first time while viewing Chang’s recently closed solo exhibition “SpaceRich” for an emotional live reveal. Their reactions and experiences will be captured on video and shared with the press and on The Stallery’s social media platforms post-event.
“As a colour blind artist, working with colors can be difficult,” says Ernest Chang. “I cannot be sure if the colors I choose match from the digital screen to the final print and often need my assistant’s help to differentiate colors and confirm my choices. That’s why I’m elated to offer colour blind patrons the opportunity to use EnChroma glasses at The Stallery to experience colours in my art and other works.”
“For both the artist and their audience, color is so often an integral part of bringing life and emotion to a piece of artwork,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “We are delighted that The Stallery is the first arts venue in Hong Kong to loan EnChroma glasses to color blind patrons and color blind artists so they can experience a deeper, richer, more colorful world.”
Colour Blindness
One in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (0.5%) are colour blind – 13 million in the US, 30 million in Europe, and 350 million worldwide.
While people with normal colour vision see over one million shades and hues of colour, colour blind people see only an estimated 10% of them. To the red-green colour blind, colours appear dull and washed out, with some difficult to distinguish from each other. Common colour confusions include green and yellow, grey and pink, purple and blue, and red and brown. This can detract from the ability of colour blind people to fully experience vibrant, colourful art. Click here to see other artwork at The Stallery as the colour blind see them.
EnChroma Color Accessibility Program™
EnChroma is the leading advocate for accessibility for those with color blindness. Nearly 200 public institutions — including over 100 museums libraries, schools, universities, national parks, gardens, employers and tourism bureaus — participate to help color blind visitors more fully experience colors in art, nature, and overcome obstacles to learning. Renowned museums that loan EnChroma glasses to guests include the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, The Centre Pompidou, Van Gogh Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Gallerie d’Italia, Chau Chak Wing Museum, and many others. EnChroma donates a pair of glasses for every pair an organization purchases. EnChroma also provides materials for institutions to educate the public or teachers, students, and parents about color blindness and its effects. Those interested in joining the program can email accessibility@enchroma.com.
About The Stallery
The Stallery is a gallery based in the historic Stone Nullah Lane neighborhood in Wanchai, Hong Kong. Founded by artist Ernest Chang in 2014 as a contemporary atelier, The Stallery continues to push boundaries of the Hong Kong art scene with unexpected solo and group exhibitions by established and emerging artists alike, and has since become home to a vibrant community for local and visiting artists and the public to engage in grassroots and community-based artistic engagement.
About EnChroma
Based in Berkeley, California, 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:
The Stallery
Ruby Kwok
ruby@thestallery.com
Sutton
Renee Chan
renee@suttoncomms.com