Disability Employment Awareness Month Poster
Each October, Texas celebrates Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM) with job fairs, public awareness events, and a statewide #HireAbility campaign to promote employment opportunities for Texans with disabilities. As part of the public awareness campaign, GCPD partners with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to distribute free DEAM posters to thousands of Texas employers and businesses to educate them on the talents and abilities of workers with disabilities, while sharing valuable employer resources through the HireAbility website.
The posters are intended to spark conversations on the employment of people with disabilities in businesses and organizations across our great state. The posters feature original work from an outstanding Texas artist, a picture of the artist, a personal statement about the artwork, and the national DEAM theme.
How to Apply
Original 2D art (including but not limited to paintings or drawings), and 3D art (including but not limited to sculpture or pottery) in all media are eligible. The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities will have the final authority as to what constitutes an acceptable entry. GCPD is committed to providing opportunities to as many Texas artists as possible; as such, a previous NDEAM Poster Art winner will not be eligible for competition until five years have passed since their last win. Simply download the entry form for more information on eligibility and how to apply!
The deadline for 2025 submissions has closed.
2025 DEAM Poster
That's What Friends are For by Jacob Martinez
My name is Jacob Martinez. Online, I call myself the “Ultimate Gaming Artist”. I have been drawing artwork with Photoshop since I was in high school. After I graduated, I wanted to continue drawing more art pieces to gain experience in becoming an animator. My dream is to influence people and make them happy using my art. I am taking classes in college, hoping to study animation with the help of my best friend and Texas Workforce Commission's Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselor.
Since my youth, I have managed the challenges from Autism, so I tend to think differently from other people making it difficult for me to communicate with them.
My art piece for the Texas Disability Employment Awareness Month is called, “That’s What Friends Are For.” For this piece, I drew a boy using crutches, wrapping his pinky finger around the finger of a girl who uses a wheelchair and is his friend. They are in a beautiful meadow filled with lots of bright, shining flowers. The pair are looking up at the giant moon above the mountains during a meteor shower. Fireflies glow around them as well as flower petals flying in the wind and up towards the moon, creating the image of both their fingers touching.
The inspiration for my artwork came from a cartoon where a girl in a wheelchair is unable to travel to an island, covered in flowers, surrounded by a huge lake. Her friend promises to bring her to the island to see the flowers. She smiles with joy.
Jacob entered TWC’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program with a clear dream of becoming a 2D animator. Working alongside his VR counselor, Yuko Matsushima, he explored career options, completed assessments, and identified the right educational pathway. Through guidance, encouragement, and Jacob’s own determination, what once seemed like a distant dream became a real and achievable plan.
To order a poster, please contact us and provide a U.S.P.S. mailing address. Posters are available free of charge while supplies last.
As part of our state’s recognition of Texas Disability Employment Awareness Month, the GCPD promotes the Texas HireAbility Campaign. Texas HireAbility is a partnership between the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities and the statewide Workforce Solutions network. HireAbility hopes to raise awareness about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities and highlight the contributions of people with disabilities in the workforce. Each poster includes the twitter hashtag (#TXHireAbility). Resources to promote disability employment awareness activities can be found at www.twc.texas.gov/texashireability.
What Can YOU Do to Advance the Employment of People with Disabilities?
In support of the What Can YOU Do? outreach effort, the Campaign for Disability Employment is pleased to present the following video tools. Help us spread the word about the value and talent that people with disabilities bring to the workplace by sharing these videos and playing the Campaign for Disability Employment’s “I Can” public service announcement (PSA).