Salina Art Center Announces Kevin Mullins Memorial Award, Wichita Artist to be remembered

Salina, Kan. (April 30, 2018) The Salina Art Center has 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. The full exhibition, including Mullins’ piece, is on view through May 20 at Salina Art Center.

“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 this year’s exhibition and the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia.

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.

Beginning with the next Salina Biennial in 2020, the Kevin Mullins Memorial Award will be given to an artist included in the exhibition whose work and practice exemplifies Mullins’ commitment to the arts community in their respective state.

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.