First Art Museum in California …
Timken Museum of Art Partners with EnChroma® to
Enhance Experience for Those with Color Blindness
EnChroma® Glasses open up a whole new world for color blind visitors to vividly see colors never before possible!
Timken Museum of Art of San Diego and EnChroma, creators of glasses for color blindness, today announced the first Southern California collaboration to revolutionize the museum experience for color-blind visitors. When the Timken reopens, visitors who are red-green color blind will have free access to special EnChroma glasses to experience the Museum’s collection in vibrant color for the first time.
“The Timken is honored to partner with EnChroma as we take this important step—as the first art museum in the state of California—to reach a new audience previously denied the opportunity to fully experience great artworks in all of their beauty,” stated Megan Pogue, Executive Director of the Timken Museum of Art. “To assist those with color blindness, the EnChroma glasses are revolutionary, and we are so proud to be on the cutting edge of this exciting new and inclusive technology. We estimate over 10,000 color blind visitors per year could benefit from these glasses.”
An estimated 13 million people in the United States, and 350 million worldwide are impacted by color blindness. While those with normal color vision see more than one million shades of color, those with color vision deficiency only see an estimated 10 percent of hues and shades. As a result, colors can appear dull, indistinct and difficult to discern. Here is an example of how Old Master artworks from the Timken’s Collection currently appear to color vision deficient visitors.
“The mission of EnChroma is to enable those with color vision deficiencies access to more of life’s colorful experiences through our specially engineered eyewear,” said Erik Ritchie, Chief Executive Officer of EnChroma. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Timken Museum of Art to make its extensive collection of artwork accessible to those with color blindness."
EnChroma’s patented lens technology is engineered with special optical filters that enable people with color blindness to see an expanded range of colors more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly. A recent study by the University of California, Davis, and France’s INSERM Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute published in the scholarly journal Current Biology, demonstrated the effectiveness of EnChroma glasses.
This partnership with EnChroma is just the beginning of a larger, more robust Accessibility Program that the Timken is developing for those with sensory needs.
About The Timken Museum of Art
Founded in 1965, the Timken Museum of Art preserves the Putnam Foundation Collection of European Old Masters, American art and Russian icons for the education and benefit of present and future generations of San Diego residents and visitors. Featuring world-class exhibitions that are open free to the public, the Timken is one of the leading art museums in San Diego. The Timken strives to expand art appreciation by serving the community through year-round tours both in-person and online. The museum exhibits the only Rembrandt on public display in San Diego County - a great attraction for those new to the art world and the art connoisseur. Though currently closed for renovation, the Timken will reopen in early 2022.
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 for color blindness 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.
EnChroma Color Accessibility Program
The EnChroma Color Accessibility Program helps public venues, schools, state parks, libraries, museums, and other organizations purchase and loan EnChroma glasses to color blind students and guests to help make schoolwork that involves color, colorful exhibits, attractions and/or experiences accessible to the color blind. Email accessibility@enchroma.com for more.
Media Contacts:
Timken Museum of Art
Stephen Kougias
Public Relations
619.316.8748
skougias@timkenmuseum.org
EnChroma
Kent Streeb
Vice President of Communications and Partnerships
530.908.9225
kent@enchroma.com
