In 2025, the Museum expanded accessibility initiatives, increased participation, and continued the Carter’s commitment to serving visitors of all ages and abilities

Fort Worth, TX, January 8, 2026—The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is celebrating a year of major strides in accessibility at the Museum in 2025. With record-breaking attendance at access events, new tactile resources, expanded community partnerships, and deeper community engagement, the Carter continues its longstanding commitment to ensuring art is accessible to visitors of all ages and abilities.

“In 2025, we saw an extraordinary amount of growth in participation with our access events and resources, including a clear rise in the need for dedicated experiences for our neurodivergent visitors,” said Amanda Blake, Director of Education, Library, and Visitor Experience. “Accessibility has always been fundamental to our mission, and this need demonstrates just how vital these events are to our community. In the year ahead, we look forward to continuing to create inclusive, supportive environments where every visitor can connect with American art.”

Building on more than a decade of accessibility initiatives, 2025 marked a turning point for the Museum as both participation numbers and event offerings reached new heights. This momentum reflects the Carter’s sustained efforts to expand collaborations with community partners and invest in new tools that support multisensory and inclusive learning. From tactile innovations to record-breaking attendance at accessibility events, this year’s achievements demonstrate the growing impact and demand for accessible experiences across our community.

2025 Access Highlights

• 873 visitors participated in access events
• 24 total accessibility events were offered by the Museum, including specialized tours and offsite collaborations
• 20 Carter events featured American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, including school tours, Second Thursdays at the Carter, member receptions, and Art Tales
• Record-setting growth in attendance:
  • Meet Up at the Museum: 38 attendees in 2024, 124 in 2025 (a 226% increase)
  • Sensory Explorations: 206 attendees in 2024, 402 in 2025 (a 95% increase)
• New tactile resources added, including:
  • Five 3D tactile replicas of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty), created in partnership with 3Dlirious and used by visitors from across the U.S. during the American Council of the Blind’s annual conference
  • Two new artist-produced tactile interpretations of artworks in the Carter’s collection created through a first-ever collaboration with Carter Community Artists:
    • Norman Lewis’s Seachange XIII created by Carter Community Artist LaShonda Cooks
    • Louise Nevelson’s Lunar Landscape created by Carter Community Artist Kristin Boyer
• New Communication Boards created for nonspeaking visitors to use alongside their AAC devices, developed with input from visitors and university partners
• Seven active access community partners, including continued relationships with UNT E.P.I.C., Dementia Friendly Fort Worth, and TCU F.A.C.E.S.; and new collaborations with Platicas AzulesFW, Down Syndrome Partnership of North Texas, Elliott’s Voice, and the Alzheimer’s Association of North Central Texas

“When I look at this growth in resources, collaborators, and new friends, I see the meaningful connections and shared experiences our visitors have while exploring art together,” said Alli Rogers Andreen, Manager of Family and Access Programs. “From sensory-friendly events to tactile tool kits, our goal is to offer a welcoming space free of charge where every visitor can enjoy the beauty and wonder of American creativity.”

As the Carter reflects on a milestone year of expanded accessibility and community engagement, the Museum is also looking ahead to build on this momentum in 2026. Continuing to prioritize inclusive experiences for visitors of all ages and abilities, the Carter will offer a variety of free access events and resources in the year ahead, designed to deepen connection, creativity, and belonging both at the Museum and in the community.

On Thursday, February 26, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., visitors are invited to join us at the Carter for Meet Up at the Museum: Rails, Roads, and Ranges. Meet Up at the Museum is a free sensory-friendly social event for neurodivergent adults and their guests offered in February and September. During February’s free event, visitors can explore methods of transportation and travel in the Museum’s collection and exhibitions, make new connections in the galleries, learn from special guests, and get creative with an art-making activity. While the needs of individuals with autism are the focus of this event, it is also fun for family and friends.

In addition to Meet Up at the Museum, the Carter will host Sensory Explorations in April, a free sensory-friendly social event for families with children of all ages who are on the autism spectrum. The Museum also 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. And children or adults with cognitive and/or physical disabilities can engage in multisensory activities and create a work of art during our Connect to Art program.

Beyond access events, the Carter will offer a variety of accessibility tools and resources in the year ahead. Museum visitors can request tactile tools kits during their visit, which feature 3D-printed copies and raised-line drawings of select artworks from the collection; visual descriptions in braille and large print; communication boards to use alongside AAC devices; and additional sensory objects to experience works of art while in the galleries. The Carter also has audio and video stops throughout the Museum featuring additional context for works of art from artists, Museum staff, community members, and others, as well as assistive listening devices during events and tours. Each gallery in the Museum, from the permanent collection to the special exhibitions, has booklets with large-print labels. Recently, the Carter began offering EnChroma color-blind glasses for both children and adults, available for check-out at the Information Desk. Free visual description and touch tours of the collection are available with advanced scheduling; artworks with visual descriptions may also be found on our website. Since 2021, the Carter has offered American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation at many of the Museum’s events. With advance notice, visitors may request ASL interpretation for events where it is not already available.

The Carter’s commitment to these audiences is strengthened by partnerships with professionals skilled in serving visitors with disabilities. Since 2014, Lighthouse for the Blind Fort Worth has partnered with the Carter to help us develop raised-line drawings and visual descriptions for our visitors and alt text for the Museum’s website. 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 our programs and invite families to access events, as well as provide staff training. The Carter has also been an official clinical site for Tarrant Community College Sign Language Program since 2021, which allows their students to practice signing for lectures, member events, and exhibition openings. Dementia Friendly Fort Worth has partnered with the Carter since 2019, allowing us 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 access events at the Museum.

To learn more about access events and resources at the Carter, visit cartermuseum.org/Access.

About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is a dynamic cultural resource that provides unique access and insight into the history and future of American creativity through its expansive exhibitions and programming. The Carter’s preeminent collection includes masterworks by legendary American artists such as Ruth Asawa, Alexander Calder, Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Robert Duncanson, Thomas Eakins, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and John Singer Sargent, as well as one of the country’s foremost repositories of American photography. In addition to its innovative exhibition program and engagement with artists working today, the Museum’s premier primary research collection and leading conservation program make it a must-see destination for art lovers and scholars of all ages nationwide. Admission is always free. To learn more about the Carter, visit cartermuseum.org.