Seattle is one of the most vivid cities in the world according to the sponsors of its city-wide art glass festival; but not everyone can fully see the diverse color palette found in natural landscapes, urban enclaves, and premier cultural institutions. To ensure more visitors can experience the magic of the emerald city’s many shades, Visit Seattle in partnership with EnChroma has made the company’s renowned color-blind glasses available for use at select venues across the city.
Often overlooked, color blindness affects one in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%), 350 million people worldwide. While people with typical color vision see over one million shades of color, people who are color blind only see an estimated 10% of hues and shades. For this community, colors like green and yellow, gray, and pink, purple, and blue, and red and brown look similar; often, these colors also appear muted and dull. This can deeply limit their enjoyment of highly color-driven artworks. EnChroma’s science-backed lenses expand the range of colors that people with red-green color blindness can see. Their unique technology also makes colors more vibrant, clear, and distinct.
“Color blindness often goes unaddressed because not enough people realize how it affects learning, work, daily life, and the ability to fully appreciate art or nature,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “We applaud Visit Seattle for partnering with us to make the colorful artwork at Refract, and the city’s numerous other attractions, more accessible to those with color vision deficiencies.”
“Seattle’s art scene is one of the best in the world, and we want every visitor to enjoy it to the fullest,” said Ali Daniels, Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Seattle. “With select glass events offering EnChroma Color Blind Glasses, we’re thrilled to make the epicenter of American glass art more accessible than ever.”
To check out these glasses year-round at the Museum, inquire at the Admissions desk. For more on the city’s celebration of art glass, including installations at the National Nordic Museum, visit Refract on the web.
