Ackland becomes first art museum in N.C. to offer EnChroma Colorblind Glasses

The Ackland Art Museum brims with color. The galleries are full of pieces that encompass the entire visible color range, but not everyone can experience the museum in this way.

Color blindness affects about 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women, stripping many individuals of the ability to view color the way that most people do.

To help combat this disparity the Ackland Art Museum unveiled a new feature of the gallery on Aug. 21: EnChroma Color Blind Glasses that help individuals with red-green colorblindness combat their visual impairment. 

The Ackland has partnered with EnChroma through their color accessibility program to equip the museum with four pairs of these glasses.

“Thinking about all the different ways people engage with art and what potential barriers are is something we think about as part of our commitment to accessibility and trying to improve resources for visitors,” Lillian Rodriguez, learning resources coordinator for the museum, said. 

Six North Carolina natives who have red-green colorblindness volunteered for the launch event to try out the new glasses. After participating, they were able to keep the Enchroma glasses. 

The group of individuals ranged from a 15-year-old soccer player to a 54-year-old Duke University employee, but they all have one thing in common — they cannot see colors the way most people can.

“OK, let’s count down from five… four… three… two… one…,” Ariel Fielding, director of communications at the Ackland, said after handing out the glasses and taking the participants across the hall to the gallery.

The six volunteers placed the EnChroma glasses on their faces and stared at a piece of art created by Peter Halley. The painting was littered with various bright colors, including green, pink and yellow, and it was decorated with an abstract style of geometric shapes.

Fielding’s countdown was followed by many seconds of silence as the volunteers embraced the new sight in front of them.

“It’s quite a shock,” Sherrill Roland said.

Roland is a faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Ackland features a piece of his art. He was also the first to speak about what he was seeing. 

“To see everything in an immersive way, kind of changed. It’s kind of trippy,” he said.

For people with red-green colorblindness, colors often appear dull and washed out and individuals have difficulty distinguishing between colors. However, with the EnChroma glasses, Rolland and the other participants noticed a difference in how the art appeared. 

“For me, I noticed a difference immediately when I put them on,” Logan Moore, a veterinarian and recent N.C. State graduate, said.

Moore said that the colors were more vibrant and that he could distinguish between different colors more easily with the glasses on. He said he can have trouble in his day-to-day life because his struggle differentiating between shades of red or pink, which can make his job harder. 

For some, though, the feeling wasn’t as potent.

Scott Robert, a physician at Durham Hospital, said that the immediate difference with and without the glasses wasn’t dramatic, but as he grew more accustomed to them, the colors in the artwork became more expressive. 

“The colors are more vivid. More intense,” Robert said. “You know, it wasn’t instantaneous. For me, I had to build up to it.”

Though the experience was different for each participant, individuals were able to visualize something they had not ever before. 

With EnChroma glasses at the Ackland, the visuals the volunteers experienced will be possible for more people who also have color blindness, allowing different groups of people to view art in similar ways. 

“We’re very excited to be the first art museum in the state to offer the glasses,” Rodriguez said. “That’s part of our commitment to accessibility. I think it just helps expand all of the different ways that visitors can interact with our artwork.”

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