About

Bringing Awareness to Artists in the Special Needs Community

The Academy of Special Dreams believes that all persons, regardless of their disabilities, should have equal opportunities to express their talents and to be successful in the Arts.

The Special Academy's mission is to increase public awareness, recognition and appreciation of the creative talents of people with disabilities by providing opportunities that encourage, promote and showcase their artistic expressions.

In an effort to assist the special needs community to achieve their artistic dreams, the Academy of Special Dreams will offer a limited number of cash scholarships to those participants who submit their artistic expressions in the competitions sponsored by the Special Academy.

All projects must involve or be created by members of the special needs community who need support to promote their artistic talents.

Open Call for Artists with Disabilities to Join the Academy of Special Dreams!

The Academy of Special Dreams invites artists with disabilities to share your Art with us.  The Special Academy provides you with a unique opportunity to have your Art seen and appreciated by a wide audience.  We offer free hosting of your Art on the Special Academy’s website, www.specialacademy.org, which is visited by thousands of unique visitors each month.  As a featured artist, we will showcase your Art on our website homepage for 30 days, and thereafter you will be listed as one of our “Artists in Residence” in an appropriate gallery of similar artists or works of Art.  In addition, we will maintain a unique address on the Special Academy website for you that takes a visitor directly to a gallery page displaying your Art.

Please contact Michael Dergar, President & CEO, for more information.

by e-mail at specialacademy@gmail.com.

The Academy of Special Dreams will strive to provide every enthusiastic supporter with an opportunity to assist in our mission to encourage, promote and showcase the artistic expressions of artists with disabilities.  We invite your ideas and will seek ways to work collaboratively with you.  For example, if you can help publicize the mission of the Special Academy among your network of family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, you can become a “Community Ambassador” in your community.  We will provide you with all necessary materials and technical support for maximizing the outreach about the mission of the Academy of Special Dreams.

Please contact either Michael Dergar, President & CEO, by e-mail at specialacademy@gmail.com, or Jerry J. Ruiz, Director of Administration, by e-mail at JJR@speciacademy.org, to discuss your ideas on how you can support the mission of the Academy of Special Dreams.

Marketing and Branding Opportunities

The Academy of Special Dreams offers advertisers the opportunity to develop a web-based strategy to build brand loyalty of your products and services among artists with disabilities and their families, friends, and care-givers.  Our website, www.specialacademy.org, receives thousands of unique visitors every month and is a cost effective tool to reach many potential customers while simultaneously helping to bring awareness to the creative expressions of the special needs community.

The Special Academy has available varying levels of sponsorship which entitle the sponsor to some or all of the following benefits: (i) prominent display of your company’s logo and web banner direct link to your company’s website on the Special Academy’s website homepage; (ii) exclusive naming opportunities for individual artists or an entire gallery; (iii) special mention in all press releases or other communications from the Special Academy about upcoming events or exhibitions; and (iv) opportunity to introduce your company’s products and services.

Please contact Jerry J. Ruiz, Director of Administration, tel. (323) 253-7380, or e-mail  JJR@specialacademy.org for additional details.

Copyright © 2010 - Academy of Special Dreams Foundation, a tax-exempt IRC 501(c)(3) non profit corporation.

All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.