YoungArts Residency

The YoungArts BAXTER ST exhibition partnership is a unique opportunity for NYC-based YoungArts award winners working in the field of photography and video to gain experience and visibility, and build a community for their first solo exhibition at BAXTER ST. The opportunity includes a financial subsidy to produce a solo show in the BAXTER ST gallery as well as access to the BAXTER ST’s digital workspace, resources, and the BAXTER ST Art Advisory Committee.⁠

We are thrilled to announce Spencer Vazquez as the 2026 YoungArts BAXTER ST exhibition recipient. Spencer Vazquez (b. 2000) is a Chicago-born artist currently based in Queens, NY. Spencer’s work explores the intersection of memory, digital media, and the everyday image. Using a variety of cameras and photographic processes, his work spans documentary portraits, adhesive tape transfers, music videos, panoramic pinholes, and flatbed scans of his phone screen. He received a BA in Film & Electronic Arts from Bard College in 2022.⁠

About YoungArts

YoungArts was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify exceptional young artists, amplify their potential, and invest in their lifelong creative freedom. YoungArts provides space, funding, mentorship, professional development and community throughout artists’ careers. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application for talented artists ages 15–18, or grades 10–12, in the United States that is judged by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process. For more information, visit youngarts.org.