The LAF Friends Art Prize is a grant to individual artists who show exceptional creative capacity in their work and the prospect for more to come. The grant is designed to provide recipients with the flexibility to pursue their artistic activities in the absence of specific obligations or reporting requirements. There are no limits on age or artistic medium, method or discipline. Individuals cannot apply for this award; they must be nominated.

The selection decisions focus primarily on expressed creativity and potential for future bodies of artistic work. The LAF Friends Art Prize is not a lifetime achievement award; it is not meant to reward Artists for past bodies of work no matter how excellent. Rather, the LAF Friends Art Prize is designed to support ongoing creation of artistic output. LAF Friends are patrons committed to supporting inventive, advancing, contemporary (living) Artists who are creating work that positively contribute to our human community and enrich our social discourse. Recipients must be citizens of the United States and must not hold elective office or advanced positions in government as defined by statute.

Limina Arts Foundation denounces harassment and discrimination of any kind, as well as conduct that misuses positions of trust or power. We seek to recognize individuals who act with integrity and respect toward all humans.

The grant for The LAF Friends Art Prize is currently set at $2,000.

The LAF Friends Art Prize is designed to provide seed money for artistic endeavors. We believe that highly motivated, self-directed, and talented artists are in the best position to decide how to apportion their time and resources. By adopting a “no strings attached” policy, we provide the maximum freedom for recipients to follow their creative vision, whether it is moving forward with their current activities, expanding the scope of their work, or embarking in entirely new directions. While we may choose to provide continued support to Recipients in modes they may request and we will proudly share news of their successes, there are no restrictions on how the money can be spent and we impose no reporting obligations.

The LAF Friends get to participate in the final stage of the award selection process. Additionally, while there are no reporting requirements placed upon Recipient Artists, the interested support of LAF Friends is considered highly beneficial to an emerging Artist’s career. In this program where Patrons and Artists (and many times people embody both roles) have self-identified that their values include artistic living and creative experiences, direct connections are seeded.

Individuals who support the Arts through membership in The LAF Friends are amongst those who understand and experience the satisfaction of knowing that their contributions are as important to the creation of art as is the musician’s, painter’s or sculptor’s. The collective power of The LAF Friends contributions directly and quickly impact the community in ways where “the sum is greater than the parts”.

We maintain a list of potential nominators who have been recommended to us from many sources, including: Foundation board members, Selection Committee members, past nominators, and past grant recipients.

Nominators write a letter, usually a page or two, describing the person they are nominating and their reasons for doing so. These letters focus on the quality and creativity of the nominees and their work, and on the likely benefits of the award to the recipient. Financial need may be one of the considerations for a nominator’s choice but The LAF Friends Art Prize is not an award based on financial need. Rather, the award is granted based on the potential of exceptional creative output.

Occasionally nominees do find out, but not from us. We specifically ask nominators and selectors not to contact the nominee or others regarding the nomination. Since individuals can’t apply for the Prize or promote themselves as candidates and because many more are nominated than will receive a Prize, it is best for individuals to remain unaware of their nomination.

The Selection Committee consists of approximately 6 people who serve confidentially and are chosen for their experience, excellent judgment, and curiosity. Committee members bring experience from different artistic disciplines but individual members do not speak on behalf of a particular discipline. Because the committee works as a group, the decision on each nomination represents a collective judgment drawn from insightful and discerning perspectives.

The Selection Committee meets to review the letters of nomination and samples of the nominees’ work that exemplify their creativity, such as articles, books, slides, films, and audio or video recordings. As consensus builds amongst the Committee in support of a particular nominee, further investigation may be conducted in a focused manner to confirm the nominee’s vision and commitment to ongoing work in the Arts. At the final meeting for each selection cycle, the Selection Committee identifies the 5 most outstanding nominations for recommendation to The LAF Friends. Nominations that do not advance within a particular selection cycle may be retained for possible subsequent reconsideration.

LAF Friends who voluntarily opt in to the CONFIDENTIAL voting process collectively award the grant to the nominee(s) who receive the most votes. In this way, the LAF Friends directly support Artists but are not individually tasked with selecting Recipients.

All of the participants in the selection process serve anonymously, and we keep their communications confidential. Anonymity protects them from being inundated with unsolicited requests. In addition, confidentiality during this process is strictly maintained so that no unintentional or unwanted disturbance to a nominee’s life is created, and people more readily provide candid impressions if they have an assurance that their responses will not be disseminated beyond the Selection Committee.

Generally, the President of Limina Arts Foundation calls the Recipient, confirms the Recipient’s consent to accept the award and, upon that confirmation, issues an award letter.

Inaugurally, the LAF Friends Art Prize is awarded annually with the first prize scheduled to be announced in 2023. Ongoing, it is a goal of the Foundation to award as many grants as funding makes possible to innovative, creating Artists. Neither the number of recipients nor the timing of announcements is fixed. An annual celebration is held to honor Recipients and Foundation Donors who wish to attend and celebrate together.

Founder information COMING SOON

The Founders envisioned a program that would: (a) identify creative individuals with extraordinary promise for significant artistic accomplishment; (b) select these individuals from across a broad range of artistic disciplines; (c) give them enough money to create a meaningful body of artistic work that might not otherwise come to be; and (d) leave them alone to work as they choose, without any strings attached to the use of the funds or any reporting requirements.

In addition to funding our core arts programs, the Foundation is committed to supporting the vitality of our headquarters city, Carrizozo, New Mexico, USA.