The SPARK Award is given to an artist with a disability who embodies the infectious and innovative spirit of Art Spark Texas. Small but mighty, a spark – when nurtured and cared for – can fuel great things. A young, Mexican-American painter and printmaker, Rachel Salcido creates incredibly rich and textured work that reflects their culture and their home on the border in El Paso. They demonstrate how art can be a form of expression and exploration of culture, identity, and expression, while also serving as a tool of resistance and power. Rachel brings a combination of artistic talent, knowledge of art history, and personal experience to their work, which explores the concept around liminality; the state of being on a threshold, existing between one stage of life, space, or identity and the next.

In their own words:

“As a queer, disabled Mexican-American, my work is rooted in the exploration of intersectional identity through the context of gender expression, disability, and tradition. I enjoy working with mark-making as a way to open conversations about labor, which parallels and embodies the labor associated with navigating physically and socially inaccessible spaces.