Leslieville photographer Olena Sullivan has been honoured with the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario's Rebecca Burghardt Emerging Artist Award.
Sullivan, who specializes in taking pictures of forgotten spaces and historical buildings, received that award for her piece Short Stack/Tall Stack, a photo of some of the remaining tableware left inside the now-closed Canary Restaurant on Cherry Street.The award includes a $1,000 cash prize as well as the opportunity for the recipient to display their art for two weeks at Yorkville's Ingram Gallery.A graphic designer by trade who has been exhibiting her work professionally for the last five years, Sullivan was one of the 75 featured artists in the association's third annual Touched by Fire art show and sale. The event took place Nov. 26 at the Royal Ontario Museum.Each year, a three-person jury selects one of the event's participating artists to win the award, which was developed in memory of Touched by Fire's inspiration, Rebecca Burghardt.The Touched by Fire program, which also includes an online gallery where artists with mood disorders can post and promote their work for free, was created back in 2007 as a result of an endowment fund from the family of young artist Rebecca Burghardt, who suffered from severe bipolar disorder and ultimately killed herself 2005. -Joanna Lavoie