2020 Kevin Mullins Memorial Award Winner

The Salina Art Center established a memorial award for the Salina Biennial in honor of artist Kevin Mullins from Wichita, KS. Kevin passed away suddenly on March 14, 2018. Before his passing, one of his works was selected for inclusion in the inaugural Salina Biennial: Contemporary Art from the Mountain-Plains Region exhibition.

“It is fitting that this memorial award in Kevin Mullins’ honor be established for the Mountain-Plains biennial. Kevin was not only an extraordinary artist interested in transcending the everyday through repetitive patterns and bright color combinations, but also a mainstay in the Kansas art community and an example of an artist that is at once embedded in his community, yet part of the broader world of art. It’s wonderful to know that his legacy will contribute to supporting future generations of Mountain-Plains artists,” said Jodi Throckmorton, juror for inaugural exhibition and the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia.

The 2020 Salina Biennial Kevin Mullins Memorial Award has been given to Collette Copeland, an artist included in the exhibition whose work and practice exemplifies Mullins’ commitment to the arts community in their respective state.

“I awarded the Kevin Mullins Memorial Award to Colette Copeland because of the remarkably broad scope of her engagement with work that benefits her artistic community. I also felt it was important to recognize her efforts to build community around art for professionals and non-professionals alike. Colette is not only a working artist, but also a teacher, a curator, and author who writes regularly on contemporary art happening around her in Texas.I was also particularly impressed by Colette's dedication to social activism and service to some of the most underprivileged members of our society. Her volunteering with Traffick911, an organization that helps sex trafficked youth, and volunteer teaching of dance therapy to incarcerated teen girls extend her ability to affect change beyond traditional artistic venues and are efforts that I felt should be celebrated as a model for what artists can offer multiple constituencies in their communities,” Ksenya Gurshtein, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS and the 2020 Salina Biennial juror.

Artist statement from Colette Copeland:

As a multimedia artist, arts educator, arts writer, social activist and volunteer for Traffick911 and Juvenile Detention Facilities, I advocate for the arts in a variety of different ways. In my visual arts practice, I examine topical issues such as gender, death and contemporary culture. I employ humor and poetic visuals to engage the public, utilizing my works as a conduit for critical discourse. Over the past 26 years, my work has been exhibited in 25 solo exhibitions and 139 group exhibitions/festivals spanning 35 countries. This past year my work was featured in Kolkata International Photography Festival, India as one of 250 photographers from 40 countries as well as screened in film festivals in San Paulo, Madrid and Dallas. In my volunteer work for Traffick911, the primary focus is to free Texas children from sex trafficking. For the past eight years, I have served as a volunteer leader in prevention through education and awareness. I speak to front-line responders, community organizations, middle school and high school youth, and in juvenile detention facilities. In both Collin and Dallas juvenile detention facilities, I have organized art workshops that promote positive body awareness and foster creative imagination.

Currently I volunteer teaching two creative dance therapy classes each month at Collin Juvenile Detention Facility. Two years ago, I also expanded the program into Letot--a Dallas County shelter, where two volunteers also teach movement and meditation. The girls in juvenile detention range in age from 13-17. I don’t always know what their specific charges are. However, many have come from very troubled home lives and have experienced horrific abuse and exploitation. Some have been sex trafficked. Most have suffered from alcohol and drug addictions. In our classes, we focus on healing mind/body and bringing positive body awareness through movement. It’s tremendously rewarding to see their transformation even after a single class. Every class we hear, “I feel so much better.” I was feeling depressed, now I feel happy.” “I was angry and had a really bad day, but now I feel calmer.” “My body isn’t as tight or isn’t hurting anymore.” “You help us so much.” “You bring us so much joy.”

Kevin Mullins was born in Oklahoma and raised in New York state. He received an AAS in design from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. He received a MFA in painting and printmaking from the University of North Carolina and completed a Master’s Program in printmaking at the Chelsea School of Art, London, England. Mullins spent five years at the Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC, as an assistant curator and fifteen years at the Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS, as the Curator of Exhibitions, all while maintaining an active studio practice. Mullins has exhibited his work throughout the United States and in England, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, and Japan.

Gifts in honor of Kevin Mullins can be given to the Kevin Mullins Memorial Award via Salina Art Center, 242 S. Santa Fe Salina, KS 67401. 

Kevin Mullins

Sari Zoetrope #1, 2017

Mixed media, screen print on fabric on canvas on panel

37 x 107 in.

Photo courtesy of the artist