The cleveland museum of art will address the need to provide a more accessible experience for individuals with disabilities in its interactive artlens gallery

The Cleveland Museum of Art received a $563,670 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301), awarded October 1, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2027. The primary deliverable is ArtLens 3.0, a comprehensively redesigned interactive gallery that prioritizes accessibility for individuals with disabilities and non-traditional museum visitors of all ages and backgrounds. To develop this redesigned gallery experience, the museum will engage a specialized consulting firm to undertake a complete assessment and redesign process, incorporating interactive access technologies that expand art accessibility beyond traditional visitor demographics.

The project directly supports the museum's strategic objective to leverage cutting-edge technology for broadening public engagement with art. The Museums for America program supports museum projects focused on educational programs, exhibitions, collections stewardship, and community partnerships; this award exemplifies the program's emphasis on audience-focused initiatives and institutional capacity-building through technology-enabled public service enhancements.

The museum will use grant funds to hire a consulting firm specializing in designing, developing, and producing inclusive experiences to undertake a comprehensive redesign of the gallery. The resulting artlens 3.0 will incorporate interactive access technologies that prioritize the needs of non-traditional and disabled art museum visitors of all ages and backgrounds. The project supports the museum's strategic plan directive to use cutting-edge technology to bring art to life for the broadest possible audience.