AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands & BERKELEY, Calif.—The Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam, is the latest cultural institution to partner with EnChroma to help people understand the experience of color blindness. The Van Gogh Museum is the first museum in Amsterdam, and second in The Netherlands, to support color-blind guests via the EnChroma Color Accessibility Program. Over 80 museums from around the world participate in the program. Earlier this month, VMAIL  reported on a similar partnership between The Centre Pompidou and Enchroma.

As part of the Van Gogh Museum’s mission to promote accessibility, EnChroma glasses for red-green color blindness will be available for guests who suffer from color vision deficiency or color blindness to borrow while touring the museum.

“As Vincent wrote in 1885, 'Color expresses something in itself. One can’t do without it; one must make use of it.’ We are very pleased that more visitors are able to experience the vibrant colors of the art of Van Gogh with the help of these glasses,” said Mirjam Eikelenboom, program manager for accessibility for the Van Gogh Museum.

Typically, the Van Gogh Museum welcomes over two million visitors annually. Of these, an estimated 85,000 are color-blind. An additional 250 million people visit the museum’s collections online. Approximately 10.5 million of them cannot experience all the colors in Van Gogh’s work.

“I’m confident that Van Gogh would be pleased that the colors he so meticulously crafted are now more visible to millions of people previously unable to perceive them,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “We commend the Van Gogh Museum for working with us on an initiative that will inspire thousands of people with color blindness to experience Van Gogh’s masterpieces in a new, more colorful way.”

Coinciding with Vision Expo East in March, the Vision Monday VM Summit will feature guest speaker Ali Daniels, chief marketing officer and senior vice president for Visit Seattle, who will talk about how the city is partnering with EnChroma to offer new opportunities for colorblind visitors to fully experience art. The Seattle program is one of dozens of cultural and educational institutions that are offering these types of interactive experiences, which also raise awareness of the importance of good vision for consumers and patients. To learn more or to register, visit https://na.eventscloud.com/website/49585/.