Access Information for Hessel Museum and CCS Bard Galleries
Parking Lot
Parking is available outside of the building in an ADA-compliant parking lot which has four accessible parking spaces at the end of the paved entrance way.
Entrance
The accessible path to CCS Bard and the Hessel Museum’s main entrance runs from the parking lot down a paved walkway that is approximately 200 feet long and uncovered. The left hand door is power-assisted with a push button set 54 inches from the accessible door. If you or someone in your visiting group needs additional assistance, please alert the Security or Public Engagement staff in the lobby.
Restrooms
Accessible restrooms are available in the lobby. Both restrooms are all-gender and contain multiple, locking stalls; one restroom includes urinals. Due to COVID-19 precautions, both restrooms are currently single-use. Personal care attendants, parents, and other caregivers are welcome to accompany people into the restrooms.
Wheelchair Availability
Manual wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the front desk.
Galleries
All galleries are on a single-level. Entrance doorways to the galleries are not equipped with automatic openers, but Security and Public Engagement staff members are nearby and can assist.
Service Animals
The Museum doesn’t allow pets in the building. However, we welcome Service Animals in the Museum, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and New York State law. A Service Animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. Emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals are not Service Animals as defined by the ADA and New York State and therefore not allowed in the Museum. Service Animals must be under the control of the handler at all times. The Museum doesn’t allow photographs of animals inside the building.
Fragrance Free
CCS Bard and the Hessel Museum are not fragrance free on a day-to-day basis, but we do provide fragrance free soap and fragrance free hand sanitizer. We do encourage visitors to come fragrance free to public programs.
Audio Guides
Audio guides are available through Gesso, an app for Android and iOS and the web. Gesso can be downloaded for Android here and iOS here, and the CCS Bard and Hessel Museum web interface can be accessed here. If you do not have a smartphone, you can request an iPod at the front desk to access Gesso and use in the exhibitions. Some exhibitions have audio guides that include audio versions of all exhibition texts and audio descriptions of the works on view.
Captioning and Transcripts
Select audio works and video works with sound on display will either have closed captions or transcripts available at the front desk.
Large Print
Large print versions of exhibition wall texts are available in the Museum galleries or at the front desk. Please ask a visitor services or Public Engagement member for assistance.
Multilingual Texts
Exhibition texts are available in 18 languages on Gesso.
Braille
Braille exhibition texts are available with four weeks request notice.
CCS BARD PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Captioning
Live captioning is available for public programs upon request with two weeks advance notice. To place a request, please contact CCS Bard by email CCSVisits@bard.edu or phone 845-758-7598. Relay and voice calls welcome.
Verbal Description
Verbal description is available for public programs upon request with two weeks advance notice. To place a request, please contact CCS Bard by email CCSVisits@bard.edu or phone 845-758-7598. Relay and voice calls welcome.
American Sign Language Interpretation
ASL-English interpretation is available for public programs upon request with two weeks advance notice. To place a request, please contact CCS Bard by email CCSVisits@bard.edu or phone 845-758-7598. Relay and voice calls welcome.