The Alamo Colleges District has selected Vincent Valdez as its inaugural Artist-in-Residence of the 2025-2026 school year, enabling him to lead immersive learning experiences with district students and the larger community.
San Antonio-born Valdez is known for his large-scale — and often cinematic — paintings that explore social justice, identity and under-examined historical narratives. He splits his time between Houston and Los Angeles, and his work has appeared in the collections and exhibitions of the Ford Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery.
Throughout his year-long residency, Valdez will work with Alamo Colleges students to “deepen critical thinking, encourage artistic expression and promote meaningful dialogue through the arts,” according to a statement from the district.
Texas Commission for the Arts will help cover costs associated with the spring 2026 portion of his residency.
“I look forward to engaging with the Alamo Colleges District community, faculty, and students,” Valdez said in a statement. “This partnership offers an important opportunity — an exchange of ideas, personal stories, social histories, in a moment when building community and supporting our youth matters most.”
Valdez’s residency will encompass classroom visits and student talks during the fall and spring semesters, including guest lectures, studio visits and discussions with students.
As part of the residency, Valdez also will work on an exhibition scheduled to be held at the Common Ground Gallery located at ACCESS in Summer 2026. The exhibition will present new pieces from Valdez honoring his late great-grandfather, who was also an artist.
In April 2026, Valdez will also serve as the featured keynote speaker at the Alamo Colleges District Visual and Performing Arts Summit, according to district officials.
Alamo Colleges, founded in 1945, has grown into network of five campuses serving 88,000 students annually.
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