FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (July 28, 2021) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to partner with EnChroma on an innovative collaboration to expand the museum experience for visitors with color vision deficiencies, more commonly known as “color blindness.” Utilizing a unique spectral lens technology invented by the Berkeley-based company, EnChroma, color blind glasses are designed to help the estimated 13 million people in the U.S. (One in 12 men and one in 200 women) with red-green color blindness see colors more vibrantly and clearly. While people with normal color vision see over one million shades of color, those with color vision deficiency are estimated to see only about 10% of hues and shades.
Beginning July 28, visitors with color vision deficiencies can borrow EnChroma glasses from the Museum’s front desk to see our collection and special exhibitions in vibrant color. The Springfield Art Museum is the third museum - after the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art - in Missouri to offer this assistive technology.
Exhibitions Manager Cindy Quayle says, “Having a background as a Para-Optometric/Optician makes me constantly consider how our visitors view exhibitions. Utilizing a product, such as EnChroma glasses, that can assist those with a color deficiency is really exciting. It will be tremendously satisfying to witness our patrons being able to experience color differences for the first time.”
Curator of Art Sarah Buhr notes, “A clear memory from my childhood is coloring with my Dad. He would name the colors he wanted, and I would pick them out from the pile because he explained that he couldn’t always differentiate between them. Ever since, I have always been fascinated with trying to understand what he sees versus what I see. Fast forward 25 years and my son Jackson was diagnosed with color blindness. It wasn’t shocking, but I was still slightly saddened, because my life revolves around the visual arts – my ability to discern colors is integral to the success of my work. Jackson has accompanied me to art museums since his infancy, so I’ve always wondered how what he sees differs from what I see. I am so excited that Enchroma glasses are available to us now so that I can help support and understand how my family sees the world and hopefully enrich their ability to see more.”
About EnChroma
EnChroma, Inc. develops lens technologies and high-performance eyewear for color blindness. Co-founded by a Ph.D. glass scientist and UC Berkeley educated mathematician, EnChroma invented revolutionary glasses for color blindness that combine the latest in color perception neuroscience and lens innovation to enable access to color for all. Established in Berkeley California, in 2010, EnChroma received a SBIR grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and 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. EnChroma also received the 2017 Beacons of the Photonics Industry Award from Photonics Media. For more information please call 510-497-0048 or visit EnChroma.com.
Color blindness is not a singular condition. It encompasses a range of conditions, from mild to severe, that can cause each person to see color differently. EnChroma glasses are designed to improve color vision of people with forms of anomalous trichromacy, which are estimated to comprise four out of five cases of color blindness. EnChroma glasses are not intended to assist the vision of people with Tritan-type deficiency. You can take EnChroma’s online color vision test before testing the lenses, to see if EnChroma glasses can help you.
EnChroma glasses are generously sponsored by Springfield Family Vision. The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov..
EnChroma Media Contact: Kent Streeb, Director of Marketing
530-908-9225
kent@enchroma.com
