The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is making sure art is truly for everyone.
In honor of Color Blind Awareness Month in September and World Blindness Awareness Month in October, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is highlighting the variety of accessibility tools and resources it offers for visitors with visual differences. These resources enable visitors of all abilities to better experience the Carter’s collection and exhibitions.
“The Carter is deeply invested in offering a variety ways for visitors of all ages and abilities to engage the artworks at the Carter,” said Amanda Blake, Director of Education, Library, and Visitor Experience. “From raised-line drawings to large-print labels, our accessibility tools and resources help to remove the barriers visitors with low to no vision may experience when visiting a museum.”
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For color-blind visitors to the Museum, EnChroma color blind glasses are available to check out at the Information Desk. Based on the latest color perception neuroscience, EnChroma glasses were created to filter light to alleviate the red/green color cone sensitivity overlap that leads to color confusion. With these glasses, individuals with color blindness can encounter the full spectrum of the museum’s art. EnChroma glasses are available in sizes for both children and adults.
Since 2014, Lighthouse for the Blind Fort Worth, a nonprofit organization that provides training, employment, and rehabilitation to the visually impaired, has partnered with the Carter to help develop raised-line drawings and visual descriptions for visitors. The Carter collaborated with Lighthouse for the Blind to create over 3,000 alterative text descriptions for the Museum’s website so that online visitors can better encounter the beauty and wonder of American art when exploring the collection online.
Visitors can check out accessibility tools and resources during their visit to the museum, including tactile tools kits, which feature 3D-printed copies and raised-line drawings of select artworks from the collection, visual descriptions in Braille and large print, and additional sensory objects to use in the galleries. The Carter also offers audio stops throughout the museum that provide visual descriptions and/or additional information on artworks featuring contributions from museum staff, artists, community members, and others. Each gallery in the Carter has booklets with large-print labels, and the museum offers assistive listening devices during events and tours upon request. Free visual description and touch tours of the collection are available for advanced scheduling.
Beyond access resources, the Carter will also be offering accessibility events this fall.
The Scene
The Carter will host Sensory Explorations: Portraits on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. During this free event, families can explore artworks in the galleries featuring people and portraits, enjoy an interactive performance, and create their own mini version of themselves during a hands-on, art-making experience. Sensory Explorations is a free event for families with children of all ages who are on the autism spectrum. While the needs of individuals with autism are the focus of this event, it is also fun for parents, siblings and other relatives.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Carter is partnering with Lighthouse for the Blind to celebrate White Cane Day at the Museum from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Carter offers additional access opportunities available on request for individuals and groups. Artful Moments is designed for visitors with dementia and their care partners, where visitors connect with artworks and share stories together in a social setting. During Close Encounters, visitors with low or no vision and their guests participate in a tour and use sensory tools, including raised-line drawings and 3D-printed copies of sculptures, to connect with artworks. Children or adults with cognitive and/or physical disabilities engage in multisensory activities and create a work of art during our Connect to Art program.
Key partnerships enhance the Carter access resources and programs. The Carter has partnered with TCU FACES (Families, Autism, and Child Emotional Studies) since 2018 for our access events, such as Sensory Explorations, to structure the museum’s programs and invite families to access events, as well as provide staff training. Since 2021, the Carter has also been an official clinical site for Tarrant Community College Sign Language Program, allowing their students to practice signing for lectures, member events, and exhibition openings. Dementia Friendly Fort Worth has partnered with the Carter since 2019, enabling the Carter to offer free virtual tours of the collection for the organization during their social events. Since 2020, the Carter has partnered with the University of North Texas, which provides exceptional training for our staff and insight into how to best format our adult autism events at the Museum.
Since 2021, the Carter has offered American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation at many of the Museum’s events. ASL interpretation is provided for many events or may be requested up to 48 hours before for all other events.
“The Carter works hard to be a museum for all, which includes visitors of all abilities,” stated Peggy Speir, Manager of Access Programs and Resources. “Working with our incredible community partners who are experts in fields including autism, Alzheimer’s, and low/no vision to name a few, we’re able to provide experiences and tools that allow visitors to connect with our collections and exhibitions in a creative, social, and meaningful way. Whether it’s attending an access program, using a universally designed tool, or just feeling familiar with the space, audiences with disabilities will understand we have so many things for them to enjoy.”
Learn more: Amon Carter Museum of American Art
