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, it provides a gallery and other exhibition opportunities for their work, it fosters socialization and inclusion, and it increases the publics understanding of the artistic ability of people with disabilities.