Oswego resident Dennis Pullen won the 2008 Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) Arts Leadership Prize for his entry, “Wolf” in Stone Canoe: A Journal of Arts and Ideas from Upstate New York. Pullen is one of 98 artists and writers from all areas of the state whose work is featured in Stone Canoe Number 2. The publication includes a range of submissions from artists with international reputations to those who have not previously published or exhibited their work.
There are four awards given each year including the newly-established Arts Leadership Prize sponsored by the Burton Blatt Institute. It will be awarded annually to an artist or individual whose work promotes or exemplifies the value of inclusiveness within the arts community. This prize is awarded in recognition of the successful pursuit of artistic vision, as well as noteworthy efforts to promote disability awareness and advocate for the rights of the disabled in the community. It also supports Stone Canoe’s mission of showcasing the diversity of talent in the Upstate New York arts community.
The winner of the 2008 BBI Arts Leadership Prize is Dennis Pullen is an artist who is also quadriplegic. Brian McLane, Executive Director of BBI and Ajay Srinivas, Project Assistant with BBI, presented the 2008 BBI Arts Leadership Prize to Pullen. Pullen received a certificate, a check for $500, and a limited-edition bronze replica of the original stone canoe carving by Tom Huff. "We are excited about our partnership with Stone Canoe, and we applaud Dennis Pullen's work and Stone Canoe's inclusion of disability in the arts," says Peter Blanck, BBI chairman and SU University Professor. "Our partnership helps to further accelerate the inclusion of people with disabilities into the arts."
“I was speechless when I was presented with the award,” said Pullen. “The feeling was great. I’ve never gotten anything like that. It was awesome,” said Pullen.
Pullen said “Wolf,” is his favorite painting because not only does he love the animal, he enjoys the technique of stippling – applying layer after layer of paint and letting it dry in between. “That piece is a lot is better than my previous work,” said Pullen. “The trick is waiting for each application to dry, which takes a week. That’s sometimes difficult for me, because I’m not a very patient person.” Pullen, a graduate of AmeriCorps and a member of the “elf-Advocacy Association of New York State, spends about four to six hours a week painting.
A selection of art from the journal is on display at Delavan Art Gallery through February 23. The works of the 30 artists participating in the exhibition reflect the journal’s goals of commitment to diversity and community partnerships throughout the Upstate region.
The inaugural issue of Stone Canoe won a bronze medal in the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards, as well as a Certificate of Excellence from the University Continuing Education Association. Stone Canoe is published annually by University College of Syracuse University.
The second edition of Stone Canoe is available for sale at the SU Bookstore, the Delavan Art Gallery, and area bookstores.
For more information, visit the Stone Canoe Journal website (www.stonecanoejournal.org) or contact Eileen Jevis, manager of public relations for University College, at 443-3527 or ejevis@uc.syr.edu. You can also download the Press Release: Stone Canoe (PDF).