Los Angeles, CA (December 10, 2025) – Napoles Marty has been awarded the 2026 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize, which recognizes an early-career artist and partners with a non-profit organization that has made a significant social impact. Now in its fifth year, the award, launched in collaboration with WME, includes a $25,000 prize and a solo booth presentation at Frieze Los Angeles 2026. Presented this year in partnership with NXTHVN, the visionary arts incubator founded by renowned multidisciplinary artist Titus Kaphar and impact investor Jason Price in New Haven, Connecticut, the Impact Prize remains a cornerstone of the Frieze Los Angeles curated program.
Frieze Los Angeles will return to Santa Monica Airport from February 26 – March 1, 2026, with the support of global lead partner Deutsche Bank, reflecting a shared commitment to artistic excellence.
The prize supports artists at a pivotal moment in their practice, accelerating their careers and creating transformative opportunities. Over the coming months, Marty will work closely with the fair and curator Diana Nawi to shape a presentation that reflects the prize’s commitment to mentorship and sustained guidance as artists enter the commercial art world.
A jury, including Allison K. Berg (Founder and President of the A&L Berg Foundation) and Maisha C. Leek (Collector, Advisor and Civic Leader) selected Marty’s proposal in collaboration with Diana Nawi (Curator of Special Projects, Contemporary Art, LACMA), who joins as curator of the 2026 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize.
Diana Nawi, Curator of Special Projects, Contemporary Art, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) said: ‘Frieze, NXTHVN, and I are delighted that the jury selected Napoles for this important recognition. I was impressed by the continuity of his visual language across drawing, painting, and sculpture. There is a dynamic expressiveness throughout his practice that conjures an inner world made tangible.’
Napoles Marty is a sculptor and painter whose work uses the human body as a vessel for meaning, blending classical and modernist forms with raw, often grotesque figures. Through carving, charring and painting, Marty creates beings that are part human, part creature – spiritual protectors that explore power, vulnerability, transformation and myth, while reflecting personal dreams and his Cuban heritage.
In 2026, the prize will expand its mission through a new partnership with NXTHVN, an arts model supporting emerging talent and community engagement, further amplifying the role of artists in shaping cultural ecosystems and the communities around them. The award continues to champion voices often marginalized, reinforcing its commitment to driving systemic change across the arts and fostering diverse perspectives. Marty was also a fellow in NXTHVN’s COHORT 06, a paid 10-month fellowship program of mentorship and professional development for studio artists and curators, reflecting the partnership’s emphasis on continued support.
Launched in 2019 by Mark Bradford‘s ‘Life Size’ project in partnership with the Art for Justice Fund, the prize recognizes artists whose work engages with social justice and community advocacy, including formerly incarcerated artists whose practices challenge societal narratives. Past recipients include Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez (2025) and Gary Tyler (2024) in collaboration with The Center for Art and Advocacy; Narsiso Martinez (2023) with Define American; and Mary Baxter, Maria Gaspar, and Dread Scott (2022) with the Art for Justice Fund.
As a testament to the prize’s impact, the past six recipients have collectively gone on to receive major honors such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Graham Foundation Grant and the Rome Prize. Their work has entered the collections of leading institutions such as The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and has been featured in exhibitions at The Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, Riverside; The Shed, New York and El Museo del Barrio, New York, demonstrating the prize’s role in accelerating early-career artists onto international platforms.
