The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas has named Houston-based painter Vincent Valdez and Austin-based author KB Brookins as its 2025-2026 artists-in-residence.
The creatives were selected from nearly 200 applicants who responded to the organization’s open call. Mr. Valdez and Mx. Brookins will each receive $30,000 stipends and will work with ACLU of Texas and community leaders on projects that advocate for civil rights and individual freedoms, specifically in regard to immigrants’ rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, and criminal law reform.
In a press release, Oni K. Blair, Executive Director of the ACLU of Texas, said, “Vincent Valdez and KB Brookins challenge us to experience the world in a different way. Their work reminds us of our shared humanity and the urgent need to protect the rights of all Texans, no exceptions. I’m thrilled they’ll be collaborating with us to highlight the diverse and sometimes contrasting realities that coexist within our state. At the ACLU of Texas, we believe the arts can reach beyond age, language, and culture to speak truth to power — and imagine a new way forward.”
Vincent Valdez
Born in San Antonio and now living between Houston and Los Angeles, Mr. Valdez is known for his large-scale paintings that explore issues related to injustice and inequity. His recent retrospective, Just a Dream…, illustrated his longtime commitment to these issues. His work has been recognized through major granting programs like the Latinx Artist Fellowship (2022) and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors (2016). In 2023, Art League Houston named Mr. Valdez its Texas Artist of the Year, and in 2015, he was recognized as the Texas State Visual Artist 2D by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Mr. Valdez noted, “I’m eager to begin this collaborative partnership with the ACLU of Texas. This opportunity enables me to continue to create images as instruments, to incite public remembrance, and to defy social amnesia. My project, The New Americans, will serve as a reminder: to fight the good fight, like a stubborn pulse in a dying heart.”
Mr. Valdez spoke with Glasstire about his proposed project. He intends to make a series of drawings featuring important people who have shaped the U.S. While he is still determining who will be included, he hopes that labor leader and feminist activist Dolores Huerta will be the subject of his first portrait.
Overall, his goal is to disseminate the series outside of the traditional art world, making the portraits and their related histories accessible to the general public. The artist is considering circulating the images through various formats such as posters, digital files, and placement in newspapers. Mr. Valdez likened the idea to the WPA Federal Art Project, which funded artists to create murals, prints, and posters that could be accessed by everyday people.
Mx. Brookins added, “I’m so excited and grateful to be an artist-in-residence with the ACLU of Texas! My project will include writing workshops, op-ed curation, and art events on pretrial detention in Harris County jails. This work is so important to me. I hope to do my part in creating a world beyond carceral punishment.”
KB Brookins. Photo: Mama Duke
Mx. Brookins is a Black, queer, and trans poet, author, and educator, who was raised in Fort Worth and is now based in Austin. Their debut memoir, Pretty (2024), won the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Dorothy Allison/Felice Picano Emerging Writer Award. Their poetry collection, Freedom House (2023), received the American Library Association Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Texas Institute of Letters Award for the Best First Book of Poetry. In 2022, Mx. Brookins helped establish the Austin Poet Laureate program.
The ACLU of Texas launched its artist residency program in 2022 with Houston-based artist Mathieu JN Baptiste, who painted murals empowering historically disenfranchised voters. Houston street artist Kill Joy is the outgoing resident. She worked with Kitchen Table Puppets & Press to lead a statewide immigrants’ rights tour, featuring giant 12- to 15-foot puppets.
Learn more about the ACLU of Texas’ arts initiatives via the organization’s website.
