Interview with Dr Leah Bullen
In this blog series, we interview previous winners of the Stanthorpe Art Prize. Here we chat with Dr Leah Bullen who won the 2021 Stanthorpe Art Prize with her work Memoryscape (Garden with sunflowers and pencil pines).
Dr Leah Bullen with her 2021 Stanthorpe Art Prize winning watercolour, Memoryscape (Garden with sunflowers and pencil pines)
What made you decide to enter the Stanthorpe Art Prize in 2020/1?
I entered the Stanthorpe Art Prize as the prize has a range of different categories with great prizes. It was also an opportunity to exhibit in Regional Queensland, which was an area I had not previously exhibited in before.
Has winning first prize in the 2021 Stanthorpe Art Prize changed anything in your art life?
Winning the Stanthorpe Art Prize has given me the financial security to pursue many other projects such as residencies and exhibitions. The prize money has allowed me to take up residencies in the Blue Mountains and Newcastle and it also funded my first solo exhibition in Brisbane.
Did you gain any exposure from being a winner?
Winning the Stanthorpe art prize has certainly increased my artist profile and given rise to many other opportunities such as other art prizes, residencies, grants and exhibitions.
Inside/Outside was recently included in Inspirations and Iterations at NERAM.
Where has your work taken you since 2021?
Since 2021, I have had my first solo exhibition in Brisbane (2022) and have been curated into many group shows locally, interstate and overseas. This has included Inspirations and Iterations at New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale; Come Back All is Forgiven at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra; LAG at Poimena Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania; Flowing Water:Taoyuan International Watercolor Biennial, Taoyuan City, Taiwan; and Fabriano Watercolour 2022, Museo della Carta e della Filigrana, Fabriano, Italy. I was also fortunate enough to have been selected as a finalist in the 2021 Wynne Prize and won the Pring Memorial Prize as part of that exhibition.
Arid Garden Wollongong won the Pring Prize in 2021 a couple of months after she won the Stanthorpe Art Prize
Do you plan to enter the 2024 Stanthorpe Art Prize?
Unfortunately, due to time constraints with other ongoing projects, I won't be entering in 2024. But I will definitely enter again in the future! It was a wonderful and rewarding experience.
See more of Leah’s work:
Website: www.leahbullen.com
Instagram: @leah.bullen
FB page: @leahbullenartist