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Accessibility

Visitor Accommodations at MMoCA

Ticketing

Admission to the Museum is free all year round, so there is no need to purchase tickets or book a time slot to visit the Museum.

Most events are free, including Exhibition Celebrations, Artist Talks, Educational Programming, and more. MMoCA Cinema is free for members, including the free membership tier Friends of MMoCA.

Admission for ticked events is free for caregivers of individuals with disabilities. Please notify the museum attendant at the Lobby Desk upon your arivial.

Storing Items

The Museum has a coat check room, without lockers, located behind the Lobby Desk and across from the elevator. Larger backpacks can be stored behind the Lobby Desk. Belongings behind the desk will be monitored by a museum staff member.

Parking

  • The Museum does not have on-site parking.
  • The Museum is located between two city parking garages: State Street Capitol Garage and the Overture Center Garage.
  • Accessible street parking is available on Henry Street near the blue U.S. Federal Court building, approximately 1/2 block away from the Museum’s main entrance at 227 State Street.

Accessible Entrances

  • All staircases have handrails.
  • The main entrance at 227 State Street has an automatic door opener. Additionally, the interior door connecting the museum to the Overture Center is propped open during gallery hours, as are the entrances to each gallery.
  • Lecture Hall: Wheelchair-accessible entrances are available in the back of the Lecture Hall. To access these entrances, guests should travel through the State Street Gallery and enter the doors at the top of the first ramp.
  • Henry Street Gallery: There are stairs with handrails leading from the 1st floor to the Henry Street Gallery. If you’re unable to use the stairs, please talk to a staff member at the Lobby Desk, and they will assist you through the alternate entrance of the Henry Street Gallery.

Elevators

  • There is one elevator in the Museum which takes visitors to the first, second, and third floors. The elevator can be found just outside of the coat room, located near the Lobby Desk.
  • Braille is used to designate floors.
  • The Henry Street Gallery is only accessible by stairways or through the Henry Street doors inside the Overture Center which are locked at all times. If you’re unable to use the stairs, please talk to a staff member at the Lobby Desk, and they can assist you to the Henry Street Gallery through an alternate entrance.

Accessible Restrooms

  • Two single-stall restrooms are available on the third floor of the Museum. Additional restrooms are available in the back of the Main Galleries on the second floor and in the back of the State Street Gallery on the first floor.
  • Every restroom has at least one stall that is accessible with additional space and handrails.
  • The restrooms on the second floor have a baby-changing station. Guests may ask at the Lobby Desk for a private baby-feeding area.

Wheelchairs and Other Mobility Devices

  • The Museum has one manual wheelchair available free of charge for guests to use during Museum hours on a first-come, first-served basis. The chair is sanitized after each use. Please inquire about wheelchair availability at the Lobby Desk.
  • Manual and electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and mobility aids such as walkers and canes are welcomed in the Museum. Canes do not need rubber stoppers.

Seating

  • Benches and gallery seating is available in the Lobby and in the galleries.
  • Folding stools are available upon request.

ASSISTED LISTENING DEVICES

  • Assisted listening devices are available for programming in the Lecture Hall including artist’s talks and cinema screenings. The Museum has three on-ear headphones and transmission packs as well as two induction neckloops for T-switch devices.

Closed Captioning

  • All video content in the Museum has closed-captioning.

Large-Print Labels

  • Each website exhibition page will state whether or not large-print labels are available in the galleries in the sidebar, under the heading “Accessibility.”
  • Large-print labels can be found in a binder within each exhibition. If you are unable to locate them, please reach out to a Museum attendant and they can assist you.

Service Animals

  • Service animals are welcome in the galleries. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animals as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”
  • Animals that are not service animals, including “pets,” “emotional support animals,” “comfort animals,” “therapy animals,” or “companion animals,” are not allowed inside the Museum.
  • Service animals must be under the control of the handler at all times; in most instances, this means that animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered in some way. Guests may be asked to remove their animals from the Museum if the animal is disruptive and the handler does not or is unable to take effective action to control it. Disruptive behavior includes barking, growling at other guests, jumping or lunging toward other guests, running away from the owner, or urinating or defecating on the premises.
  • Lobby staff will inform guests upon arrival about any temporary exhibitions that may be less suitable for animals (such as a video installation that uses high-frequency pitch).
  • In warmer weather, the Museum’s third-floor outdoor Sculpture Garden can be used as a toileting area for service animals.

Quiet/Sensory Times

Foot traffic in the Museum may vary each day, but usually…

  • The quietest times to visit are: late afternoon on Thursday and Fridays (between 4–6 PM)
  • The busiest times to visit the Museum are: Saturday and Sunday early afternoon (between 12–3 PM)
  • Our busiest times of the year are: summer, especially weekends
  • Our quietest times of the year are: January and February
  • Other times that are busy? Museum attendance can fluctuate with downtown events, with higher traffic during the Farmers Market, Taste of Madison, Art Fair on the Square, Maxwell Street Days, marathons/athletic events, etc.

Who to Contact When You Need Assistance

Please don’t hesitate to ask staff members for assistance:

  • Museum Attendants will have their photo badges visible.
  • Staff members at the red Lobby Desk are happy to assist you.

Accessibility Online

Art at Home

Explore our online collection, virtual tours, artist videos, and more. Anywhere, anytime.

Captioning on videos

All videos created after July 2021 have open or closed captioning. Some videos on our YouTube channel were created before July 2021 but were uploaded in 2022.

Open captioning for the MMoCA Cinema series is contingent on the film distribution company and is an on-going effort.

Virtual Tours

Self-guided 3D virtual tours are available for most exhibitions since 2020, with the exception of exhibitions in the Imprint Gallery.

Programming


Website Accessibility Statement

The Madison Museum of Art is committed to making its website, mmoca.org, accessible for everyone by implementing web accessibility standards in accordance with the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.1 Level AA.

Digital accessibility is an ongoing effort. If you have any comments, concerns, or suggestions about a webpage at mmoca.org, please contact communications@mmoca.org. Be sure to mention the relevant web page.