“13th International Art Competition: A Selection of Purchase Award Winners,” Liahona, Dec. 2025.
13th International Art Competition: A Selection of Purchase Award Winners
Latter-day Saint artists worldwide showcase their faith and love of Jesus Christ through artwork in varied media.
Latter-day Saint artists from 26 nations submitted 584 artworks in the 13th International Art Competition. The competition’s theme is “Lift Up the Hands Which Hang Down” (see Doctrine and Covenants 81:5).
Artists submitted from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, and North America. Curators at the Church History Museum chose 150 pieces to exhibit. Jurors awarded 10 merit awards. Another 14 purchase awards were given. Five visitors’ choice awards will be given near the end of the exhibition in January 2026.
“Our Heavenly Father extends to us an invitation to participate in His creative work,” Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé has taught. He further said, “Our contributions may be expressed through the creation of works of art, architecture, music, literature, and culture, which embellish our planet, quicken our senses, and brighten our lives” (“Our Earthly Stewardship,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 58).
Artwork in the competition expresses the faith and divine aspirations of Latter-day Saints in a growing worldwide Church. This show and individual pieces bear witness and testimony of faith in and love of the Savior Jesus Christ by Latter-day Saint artists around the world.
You can view some of the award-winning artwork on the following pages. It’s a small representation of a much larger exhibition—and devotion.
Invisible Networks (paper)
Susana I. Silva, born 1976, Argentina
Mycelium networks are microscopic fungi that connect the root systems of trees. Some scientists have posited that these networks allow trees to “communicate” and assist one another to pass carbon, nitrogen, water, and chemical signals. Silva has recreated this delicate lattice that fosters plant communication in delicate paper cuttings. “Above the ground, we are also part of a vast, invisible, intricate, and complex network where every connection matters and every child of God contributes to collective strength and well-being” (Susana I. Silva).
The Garden of the Lord (paper)
Pamela Salinas Bernal, born 1986, Chile
While the surrounding landscape is barren, individuals work hard to bring the desert to life. Next to a river grow clumps of yellow, blue, orange, purple, pink, white, and red flowers. Those that don’t sprout naturally are placed in a greenhouse for cultivation. “Let us receive and love each of His precious children, even when they have another appearance, way of dressing, or speaking” (Pamela Salinas Bernal).
Fishers of Men (oil)
Silvana Alvarez Rhodes, born 1967, Argentina (residing in Utah, USA)
A fisherman casts his net wide to gather colorful sea life. Rhodes references her father, who spent days working on the sea as a sailor in the Argentine Navy but who was a fisher of men, seeking those needing strength and belonging in the Church. “In the midst of that stormy, confusing, and frightening sea, the Lord’s ship emerges as a light to the nations” (Silvana Alvarez Rhodes).
We Are Our Neighbor’s Keeper (acrylic gouache, pen, and canvas)
Gifty Annan-Mensah, born 1949, Ghana (residing in Virginia, USA)
Hands clasp, hug, hold, prepare, feed, reach, comfort, care, and share in Annan-Mensah’s image of neighbors. As each figure seeks to help those around her or him, God’s love is evident, symbolized by the heart grounding the scenes of service. “[Heavenly Father’s] heart desires that as He has loved us, we should also love one another” (Gifty Annan-Mensah).
Consolation (acrylic on canvas)
Ernest L. Budu, born 1989, Ghana
Wrapped in each other’s arms, two women give and seek consolation. The patterns in their clothing and hair frame the compassion and rest expressed in the women’s faces. “We can be a refuge of comfort when we console someone at a time of grief or disappointment” (Ernest L. Budu).
Together to Gather (oil)
Sherron Crisanto, born 1978, Philippines
In rural Philippines, the men of a community don’t just assist in moving personal belongings when a family relocates; they work together to move the house, embodying the spirit of bayanihan, or community aid offered without expecting anything in return. “Bayani means ‘hero’; we can also be heroes by small, simple things to lend our hand to help other people” (Sherron Crisanto).