Introducing the NIAD Art Center Collection

Founded in Richmond, California in 1982, NIAD Art Center is a gallery and progressive art studio that supports more than 70 adults with disabilities as they build sustainable art  practices. When you own a piece of NIAD art, you connect with the unique story of an artist with disabilities, amplify an original voice in contemporary art, and empower a non-traditional artist to earn income from their work. Now, you can collect their work on Chairish. Executive Director Amanda Eicher shares the story of the center, along with the work of a few NIAD artists.

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NIAD works at the busy intersection of contemporary art and disability services, and their artists and staff are tireless advocates for a more inclusive, accessible art world. Frequently remarkable, surprising, and engaging, NIAD artwork has become a highlight of the Bay Area arts landscape and has received national and international recognition from the art community. NIAD artists have shown work at SFMOMA, OMCA, Christie’s San Francisco, the Whitney Biennial, and are represented by galleries across the country. Here, Executive Director Amanda Eicher shares her experience of working at NIAD.

How long have you worked with NIAD and what drew you to this work initially?

Like many people at NIAD (studio artists and staff), I’m working toward longevity in my tenure. I’m at seven years total, but some of us have been with NIAD for more than three decades—an aspiration!

Initially, I began working at NIAD as a studio facilitator, supporting practices in NIAD’s 23rd Street Studio, and over time, I’ve learned—mainly from the leadership of artists—in ways that led to more leadership on staff. As Director, I am still guided every day by the advice and wisdom of our studio community. It is the center of what we do.

We love NIAD’s tagline, “Redefining contemporary art.” Could you explain a little bit about how NIAD’s mission relates to the contemporary art world, and how you’re expanding the art world to engage in a dialogue with artists with disabilities?

Historically, the art world and the disability community have been held at separate poles, but it’s wrong to expect them not to go together. Disabled people have always been active in the art world. Being part of the community of artists at NIAD is incredibly motivating in this regard: the studio environment is abuzz with this generous exchange of ideas, stories, techniques, and material processes. There’s a lot of cross-pollination among departments and between collaborators, and a willingness to support one another as our practices deepen and expand. At NIAD we’ve championed this interdependence as a vital model for other art world spaces to follow.

What is it that you love most about working with NIAD artists?

Studio artists at NIAD define creative practice in so many ways—as gallerist Amy Adams of Adams and Ollman says, “It is the best of the art world.”

As someone who maintained a professional art practice until I began working at NIAD, I respect so much the continual optimism with which our artists take leadership and make inclusive space in an art world that can be hectic, mind-boggling, and challenging to enter. I can say that as a part of NIAD, I have experienced the very best of what the art world can be, and this is due to the decades-long practices of our artists and what they make happen in our many art worlds.

I have been waiting in the morning, thinking “open the gate!”

Luis Estrada, NIAD Artist

Can you tell us a little about the studio in Richmond? What is the space like, and what is a ‘day in the life’ with artists working in the studios like?

On any given weekday morning, artists arrive at NIAD’s downtown Richmond building to find the studio environment prepared with care for each of them. A creative thrum builds as everyone settles in to work at communal tables in their chosen area of focus—ceramics, printmaking, mixed media, sound recording, fiber, painting, and drawing. 

Artists work independently and interdependently, according to their preferences. The studio vibe can be described in terms of polyphony: many voices and melodies intertwining.

NIAD’s studio music continues throughout the day, through laughter, artist talks, dance parties, debates, field trips, meetings, creative breakthroughs, and curator visits. A casual observer might appreciate this melody without being aware of the years—sometimes decades—that artists and facilitators have invested in building community and mentorship in the NIAD studio, telling their stories and practicing their songs together.

Tre’Von Silva (b. 1995) is an artist based in the Bay Area. Since joining NIAD Art Center in 2018, Silva has cultivated a prolific practice that includes large paintings, collages, and works on paper. Many of these works capture Silva’s dynamic energy and confidence in the studio: sweeping and swirling swathes of color are built up in layers of acrylic, oil pastel, and carat d’ache crayons. Tre’Von Silva’s work was most recently featured in exhibitions at Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco and the Oakland Museum of California.

Saul Alegria (b. 1987) is a painter and sculptor based in the Bay Area. His works reimagine animals and insects in striking, electric shades of color. In some paintings, Alegria offers tender, carefully-studied portraits of his animal subjects. In other images he transforms inhabitants of the natural world into flattened, potent symbols. His sculptures are powerful composite forms that combine familiar creatures with icons from mythic quests in video games. Alegria’s work has been curated into many shows at NIAD Art Center, and was also prominently featured in the landmark exhibition Into The Brightness at the Oakland Museum of California. In 2023, OMCA acquired one of Alegria’s paintings for their permanent collection. Saul Alegria has worked at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA since 2007. 

Luis Estrada (b. 1982) is an artist who has been creating work at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA since 2004. Estrada refers to himself as “The Weatherman,” and for years he has meticulously recorded environmental changes, catastrophic weather events, and the natural phenomena impacting our daily lives. As Luis describes, “Far away in Mexico and Texas, there’s tornados. There’s earthquakes 365 days a year, and New York City is frozen. Everything happens, the weather changes real fast. The weather changes backwards.” His practice ranges from notational paintings and drawings to figurative ceramics and embroidered textiles, and also explores themes relating to personal history, celebrity WWE drama, and the passage of time. Estrada’s work has been collected and exhibited nationally, and was most recently featured in exhibitions at the Oakland Museum of California and Wave Pool Gallery in Cincinnati, OH.  

Karen May (b. 1950) is a multi-media artist whose practice spans collage, ceramics, drawing, painting, poetry, and fiber art. She returns to motifs related to gardening, cats, and dolls to conjure childhood memories. May refers to her art as a “memory tool,” explaining, “If I have to remember my mom I can draw a picture of my mom. One way or the other I’m always thinking of my mom.” In addition to themes of personal history, May also frequently works on found ephemera from art publications, co-opting the imagery with her own linework and text. In 2023, seven of these mixed-media detournements were acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. May’s work has been published and exhibited widely in the Bay Area, most recently at the Oakland Museum of California, Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, and Personal Space Gallery in Vallejo, CA. Karen May has worked at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA since 2011. 

Christian Vassell (b. 1993) is a multi-media artist who has been creating work at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, CA since 2012. Vassell’s drawing practice incorporates research into cultural artifacts, food, music, and animals from around the world. He describes his process: “I want to draw a picture. I want to color animals. I want to read the bird book.” In recent years he has produced multiple artist’s books featuring personal stories and symbols, as well as boldly glazed ceramic forms, and a series of vibrant paintings on vintage vinyl records. In 2021, Vassell collaborated with eight other artists to complete an 8 by 8 foot mural for the SFMOMA Mini Mural Festival. Christian Vassell’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Oakland Museum of California and the Richmond Art Center in Richmond, CA.

Lead Image: Exhibition of Artist Saul Alegria at the Oakland Museum, Photo courtesy of NIAD.