The program is open to adults with developmental and/or mental disabilities who are enthusiastic about working toward becoming professional artists and who are willing and able to focus on their work for a full studio day.

Exposure to the center of creative arts introduces a new way of thinking about creative expression. Learning about the unique aesthetics and life experiences of other outsider artists, students discover that art can be a product of their own personal vision, and that their artistic abilities are not limited by a lack of training, privilege, or access to professional materials.

In addition, outsider art can be a catalyst for critical discussion about the marginalization and social hierarchies drawn along lines of race, class, and gender. Students and community groups are given the opportunity to explore the often underrepresented art and histories of marginalized groups and see how art can be a form of empowerment and a way to have a voice.

The visual arts are an effective training tool for people who may have barriers to cognitive-based training systems, but who are interested in drawing and painting. Their ability to express themselves through visual images can operate as the basis on which they build skills and capabilities and become integrated into the community and provide an opportunity to earn money. More importantly, they experience a growth in confidence and self-esteem as the natural and inevitable result of becoming achievers at something they do well.