The Fundación Kahlo, the New York–based nonprofit established by the family of the iconic painter Frida Kahlo, has announced the launch of a new prize to support emerging Mexican artists.
Underwritten by the auction house Phillips, the Kahlo Art Prize will be awarded every other year and come with a $50,000 stipend, as well as opportunities for the winner’s work to be exhibited in Mexico City at the recently opened Museo Casa Kahlo.
“Through the process of opening the museo and welcoming the globe into Frida’s world, there has been one constant refrain: Más amor, más família, más Mexico – more love, more family, more Mexico,” Mara Romeo Kahlo, the artist’s grandniece and heir who serves as the president of the Fundación Kahlo, said in a statement. “As a lifelong teacher, Frida was devoted to the idea of elevating and celebrating other artists, and that is at the heart of the Kahlo Art Prize.”
In a statement, Miety Heiden, Phillips’s chairman of private sales, said, “Few artists have had the lasting impact of Frida Kahlo. Generations after her lifetime, her work continues to shape cultural conversations and inspire new artistic voices. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Fundación Kahlo on the Kahlo Art Prize and to help create a platform for emerging Mexican artists. Supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers is central to what we do, and this initiative reflects our continued commitment.”
The winner will be selected via an open-call process with artists being able to submit for the prize beginning in November. While the full eligibility details will be announced in the coming months, the Kahlo Art Prize is open only to Mexican nationals; for at least the inaugural year, it will focus only on two-dimensional work.
The inaugural winner will be decided by a jury that will be led by Magalí Arriola, the former director of Mexico City’s Museo Tamayo and whose projects, per a release, “have navigated the intersection of art and politics.” The winner will be announced on July 6, 2027, the 120th anniversary of Kahlo’s birth, in a ceremony at the Museo Casa Kahlo.
“Frida Kahlo believed that art came from living one’s truth with courage and authenticity,” Fundación Kahlo chairman Rick Miramontez said. “This prize honors that spirit by investing not only in artistic excellence, but in the next generation of Mexican voices whose work will shape our culture for decades to come. Through the Kahlo Art Prize, Fundación Kahlo celebrates Frida’s enduring legacy by helping to encourage and ensure that the future of Mexican art is as bold, original, and fearless as she was.”
