NIAD Art Center

NIAD Art Center Redefining contemporary art.

Each NIAD artwork is an original piece of contemporary art that tells an individual story from the perspective of an artist with disabilities. Frequently remarkable, surprising, and engaging, NIAD artwork has become a highlight of the Richmond art scene and has received recognition from the national art community.

NIAD is excited to present the works of Donzell Lewis and Ember Avalos for “Convergence.” In this group exhibition, 45 N...
04/02/2026

NIAD is excited to present the works of Donzell Lewis and Ember Avalos for “Convergence.” In this group exhibition, 45 NIAD artists and staff have paired up to present their work side by side.

🕷️ Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 1–4 PM.

🕸️ Visit our link in bio to view exhibition details on the web.

Convergence Opening Reception
NIAD Main Gallery
551 23rd St, Richmond, CA
April 11, 2026, from 1–4 PM
Artist Walkthrough: 2 PM

Image and Artwork Descriptions:
1. Donzell Lewis, on the left, and Ember Avalos, on the right, stand together against a white wall. Donzell holds a framed drawing of Ember’s artwork, which is a drawing of a brown spider with text, while Ember smiles and holds Donzell’s sculpture, a hand-sized black paper mache spider.

2. Donzell Lewis, Spider, 2022 (S5633) – A small naturalistic paper mache tarantula spider, painted all black.

3. Ember Avalos, Me Myself and I, 2026 – Multi-colored large brown spider looking at the viewer with eight large eyes. Capitalized text written with black ink around spider reads: Me, Myself, and I.

4. Donzell and Ember laughing together while holding their artworks This time, Donzell is holding the framed spider drawing turned around to show the back of the frame.

Happy Spring Equinox from NIAD 🌱 The longer days mean more time for art! We’ve got plenty of creating ahead, rain or shi...
03/20/2026

Happy Spring Equinox from NIAD 🌱 The longer days mean more time for art! We’ve got plenty of creating ahead, rain or shine ⛈️ ☀️

Audio & Image Descriptions:
A one minute loop of “Groovin’” by The Young Rascals, a mellow and breezy soft rock song can be played with this post.

1. Terri Moore (left) and NIAD Artist Karen May (right) sit close together on a concrete bench outside NIAD against a pink wall, smiling in the sunshine.

2. Christian Vassell (left), Shana Harper (middle), and Rebecca Jantzen (right) pose in front of a mural and a vintage black car at De Young Art Museum.

3. A 22-second video of handmade protest posters displayed on NIAD’s front window. Posters include drawings and messages like ‘We keep us safe,’ ‘Ningún Humano es Ilegal,’ ‘End racism,’ and ‘Migration is beautiful.’

4. Hacer Acma sits in front of an easel, smiling at the camera. Behind her, a large portrait painting in progress.

5. A 5-second video of Arstanda Billy White drawing a blue line to complete the arm of a figure drawing on white paper.

6. An unfired beige clay sculpture by Brandon Harris — tall, textural, full of holes from the eyes, nose, and mouths of stacked skulls. The sculpture sits on a black sculpture platform at NIAD studio.

7. A 5-second video of Deatra Colbert and Felicia Griffin giving friendly peace signs with their hands as the camera zooms in and out on each of them.

Guadalupe Soto’s new works reimagine striking found photos with minimal intervention. By tracing specific forms in color...
03/16/2026

Guadalupe Soto’s new works reimagine striking found photos with minimal intervention. By tracing specific forms in color, Soto draws our attention to the abstract shapes and symbols hidden within diverse pictorial material.

🟡 Visit our link in bio to explore and purchase Soto’s latest work.

Guadalupe Soto (b. 1995) is a Bay Area artist who joined NIAD Art Center in 2019. Primarily working in painting and drawing, Soto has created boldly colored works that feature repeated patterns, text, and references to pop culture. Her work has been featured in California in group exhibitions at the Oakland Museum of California, the Mills Building, and ODC Theater.

Image Descriptions:
1. Guadalupe Soto, Palatine Chapel, 2026 – A magazine page that contains a photograph of the Palatine Chapel. The arches of the chapel are outlined with grey marker and gold dots.
2. Guadalupe Soto, Bacchus, 2026 – A magazine page that contains a photograph of a sculpture of Bacchus. The sculpture is outlined with grey marker and gold dots.
3. Guadalupe Soto, NY City Skyline, 2026 – This mixed media piece contains an image of a cityscape. There are buildings in the background and leaves from a tree that occupy the top half of the image. The leaves on the tree are outlined in a bold silver.
4. Guadalupe Soto, Madame Paulette, 2026 – This mixed media piece contains an image of a dress at Madame Paulette. The dress is diagonally framed in center of the image, and the dress bag is outlined boldly in gold.
5. Guadalupe Soto, Claude, 2026 – A magazine page contains a photograph of a garden scene with a pond and bridge. In the image there is also an older man facing the bond. The path and the border of the image is outlined with grey and gold dots.
6. Guadalupe Soto, Ani, 2026 – A magazine page that contains a photograph of Ani that is outlined with a grey border. On top of the grey border are gold dotted details.

03/04/2026

We’ve been looking forward to the Live Auction lineup for Artful 2026, featuring:

Arstanda Billy White (.nyc)
Christopher Robin Duncan & Shawn Sanders ()
Dorian Reid
Isaac Vazquez Avila ()
Julia Goodman ()
Julia Schwartz ()
Julio Del Rio
Karen Barbour ()
Katherine Sherwood (.d.sherwood)
Marlon Mullen ( .donahue)
Maryam Yousif.

You can also bid online for our Silent Auction of over 60 artworks! Every bid directly supports NIAD’s mission to champion artists with disabilities.

🎟️ Last chance: Artful 2026 is almost sold out: we still have a limited number of tickets left before our big event, this Saturday, March 7, 2026. Ticket sales close Friday, March 6 at midnight, or until they sell out!

Artful 2026
March 7 at 5–9 PM
Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA

It’s our last day ! Visit us until 5pm in the tower room 1111 to see works by Sylvia Fragoso, Willie Harris, Karen May, ...
03/01/2026

It’s our last day ! Visit us until 5pm in the tower room 1111 to see works by Sylvia Fragoso, Willie Harris, Karen May, and Donald Walker, and see why visitors are saying we’re the best of the fair and how disabled artists are redefining contemporary art 😉.

IDs:
1) installation image with Sylvia Fraogoso’s architectural ceramic sculptures on pale wooden tables at the center of the room. On the far wall is a large abstract painting by Donald Walker with a red and white background, large strands pale blue and black text that morph into windows and a figure at the center.
2. A closer view of three multicolored Sylvia Fragoso ceramic sculptures with an abstract paintings by Willie Harris and a work on paper by Donald Walker in the background hanging on a taupe wall.
3. A grid of Karen May’s detournements featuring ads for exhibitions by Paul McCarthy, Anne Truitt, Alex Katz, Paul Pfeiffer , Jason Rhoades, Hannah Wilke, Merce Cunningham, Louise Bourgeoise. The works are next to two large flower arrangements.
4. A detail of two of Karen May’s detournements featuring an ad with Paul Pfeiffer and a reproduction of a photograph by Eadweard Muybridge
5. A work on paper by Donald Walker featuring a figure with a mustache painted in washy blue paint with black outlines. The figure is surrounded by large text that starts with “DENADA”at the top left”

Doors open tomorrow! View the layered works of Karen May, Sylvia Fragoso, Willie Harris, and Donald Walker at our presen...
02/25/2026

Doors open tomorrow! View the layered works of Karen May, Sylvia Fragoso, Willie Harris, and Donald Walker at our presentation (Tower Room 1111) at Felix Art Fair 2026 (). On view through March 1, 2026.

Karen May (b. 1950), whose work is in the collections of SFMOMA and OMCA, works across multiple media including collage, ceramics, drawing, and poetry, often weaving together her family’s initials and reworking found images with her own additions.

Felix Art Fair 2026 – Tower Room 1111
February 25 – March 1, 2026
The Hollywood Roosevelt
7000 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028

Image Descriptions:
1–2: Karen May, Untitled (Titian, R**e of Europa, April 2022), 2025 — Gestural yellow, white, and paint marker lines over an opened April 2022 Artforum magazine, over a magazine cover of Titian’s classical mythological painting. The back cover shows a cloudy alpine scene overlaid with yellow handwritten text, “Nothing at all.”

3–4: Karen May, Untitled (Barbara Hammer, April 2018), 2025 — Loose cyan and yellow marks, painted over an opened April 2018 Artforum magazine featuring a cartoon-like face over a deep purple night scene with large rocks as the cover. The back cover shows a photograph of a line of cows on a rocky alpine cliff, with cyan gestural lines.

Explore the work of Michael Nuñez and 60+ artworks for our annual Artful gala and benefit auction. View artworks and pur...
02/20/2026

Explore the work of Michael Nuñez and 60+ artworks for our annual Artful gala and benefit auction. View artworks and purchase tickets for Artful 2026: https://cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/artful

The silent auction closes at the Artful 2026 gala on March 7th at Minnesota Street Project – join us for a vibrant evening featuring a live auction, cocktails, and dinner as we honor NIAD visionaries Amanda Eicher and Pam Martin.

Artful 2026
March 7 at 5–9 PM
Minnesota Street Project

Image Descriptions:
1. Michael Nuñez seated in an art studio surrounded by colorful murals and grayscale paintings.

You're invited! We are teaming up with Tierra del Sol Gallery to throw a party during the Felix and Frieze fairs. Join u...
02/19/2026

You're invited! We are teaming up with Tierra del Sol Gallery to throw a party during the Felix and Frieze fairs. Join us for a fun evening with wine provided by Beaune Imports and music by DJ Dave Muller.

This event celebrates Tierra Del Sol’s current exhibition Model World, curated by Elliott Hundley. This 32-person group show features NIAD alumni artist, Matthew Wilson alongside TdS artists and big name contemporary artists like Lauren Halsey, Ed Ruscha, Pippa Garner, Beverly Buchanan, and more!

NIAD + Tierra del Sol Felix Art Fair Party
Friday, February 27, 2026 from 6:30–9:30pm
at Tierra del Sol
7414 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90046
Plan visit: https://niadart.org/blogs/events/felix-art-fair-2026-party-with-tierra-del-sol

Image Description:
Party flyer with a yellow background, featuring text and icons, including a sphinx illustration.
Transcribed Text: Friday February 27 6:30–9:30 PM, Featuring DJ Dave Muller. Join us for a party at Tierra del Sol Gallery with NIAD! Everyone is invited! Wine provided by Beaune Imports. 7414 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046.

A field trip to the Art of the African Diaspora exhibition at Richmond Art Center! The Art of the African Diaspora featu...
02/17/2026

A field trip to the Art of the African Diaspora exhibition at Richmond Art Center!

The Art of the African Diaspora features 17 NIAD artists and is on view through March 14, 2026. Now in its 29th year, this exhibition showcases the creativity of artists of African descent. Additionally, Max Wheaton is the first NIAD artist ever to receive the Art of the African Diaspora Artistic Achievement Award.

Address

551 23rd Street
Richmond, CA
94804

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(510) 620-0290

Website

http://linktr.ee/niadartcenter

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Our Story

Each NIAD artwork is an original piece of contemporary art that tells an individual story from the perspective of an artist with disabilities. Frequently remarkable, surprising, and engaging, NIAD artwork has become a highlight of the Richmond art scene and has received recognition from the national artistic community.