On the second Saturday of each month, the gallery space and exhibition on view at New City Arts will be modified to provide experiences that are accessible and inclusive to visitors with sensory sensitivities.
On Sensory-Friendly Second Saturdays, Welcome Gallery will provide:
additional seating, fidgets and tools for sensory stimulation/suppression,
exhibition tours in ASL (email us ahead of time to confirm staffing availability),
visual displays,
and educated, caring staff to support visitors' individual needs.
As another aspect of this program, our team will work closely with exhibiting artists to discuss and plan how their work may be adapted to accommodate different needs such as modified materials for tactile exploration, lower lighting, or reduced sound. Additionally, on Sensory-Friendly Second Saturdays, there will be signs on the door of Welcome Gallery requesting that visitors refrain from entering while wearing strong scents (e.g. from perfumes, soaps, or sanitizers), silence their phones, and avoid making sudden or loud noises.
This program is being enacted as part of the Accessible Arts Initiative, a project by Jess Walters, our Saturday staff at Welcome Gallery and Board Certified Patient Advocate and neurodivergent artist. In implementing this program to address sensory needs, New City Arts demonstrates our commitment to working toward a more just, beautiful future by creating a more enjoyable and comfortable experience for a wider-range of art-lovers in our community.
Questions? Send us an email!