NIAD (National Institute of Art and Disabilities) is an innovative visual arts center assisting adults with developmental and other physical disabilities. Located just 6 miles north of Berkeley in Richmond, California, NIAD serves up to 50 adults from Contra Costa and Alameda County each day. Adults working at NIAD come from diverse cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

The NIAD program objectives are four-fold. It develops the capacity for creative expression in people with developmental and other physical disabilities, increasing their sense of personal identity and pride. It provides a gallery and other exhibition opportunities for their work, thereby validating their art, enhancing their self-esteem and providing them with earnings for their personal use. It fosters socialization and inclusion at the center and on field trips to museums, art galleries, artists' studios and community events. It increases the public's understanding of the artistic ability of people with disabilities.

NIAD was co-founded in 1982 by Elias Katz, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, and the late Florence Ludins-Katz, artist and educator, after ten years of pioneering work in the field. NIAD has received the Helen Crocker Award from the San Francisco Foundation, the Vineyards Award from the Golden Gate Chapter of the National Association of Fund-Raising Executives, and a citation from the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities and Advocacy, Inc.

NIAD is supported by the Regional Center of the East Bay, corporate, public and private foundations, individuals, NIAD art sales and special events. Even so, NIAD is constantly challenged to meet expenses, and we depend on community support.

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