Yulman, Dector Among Dumbo Arts Award Winners

Cash prizes, free studio space for one year and smart devices were the prizes given to winning artists at the closing artist awards capping off the 15th annual Dumbo Arts Festival in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, that took place from September 23-25, 2011. The multidisciplinary Festival featured work by more than 500 artists and included visual and performance art, open studios, and music, literature and family programming.

A panel of judges comprised of a mix of artists, critics, writers, curators and dealers - reviewed artwork and performances throughout the Festival. Prizes were awarded to Stefan Papco for Best Open Studio and to Brett Paine Murphy for Best Project for his work, Soundstage. Best Festival Exhibition prize was split between two winners, Minus Space Gallery's Tedd Stamm Exhibition and The Leo Kuelbs Collection's Immersive Surfaces. Each recipient received a cash award and Stefan Papco, the Grand Prize Winner, also received free studio space for one year in a building in Dumbo owned by Two Trees Management in Dumbo.

In addition, throughout the Festival, visitors voted for their favorite artists and exhibitions in the AT&T Audience Award; Nick Yulman and Hope Dector's project, The Art of Sound was named Fan Favorite. Yulman and Dector received a cash prize and smart device courtesy of AT&T.

"The quality of the artwork was outstanding this year, making it truly difficult for our panel of judges to make their decision," said Lisa Kim, Artistic Director for the Dumbo Arts Festival. "In addition to our prize winners, I'd like to thank all of the talented artists who participated and made this Festival an extraordinary experience. I consider all of them winners!"

This year, AT&T became a major sponsor of the Festival and was integrated into various aspects of the festival, including the sponsorship of Carl Skelton and Luke DuBois' Sweet Stream Love's River as AT&T's Signature Art Work, as well a new Festival app that guided visitors through the Festival's projects. Dozens of personal guides, with Wi-Fi-enabled tablets and spread out across Dumbo, directed festival-goers using the robust AT&T network. The festival also included a lounge with amenities powered by AT&T, including charging stations and AT&T Wi-Fi-enabled products featuring an interactive festival map.

"Dumbo is one of New York's most vibrant neighborhoods and we are so proud to have been here to join in such a wonderful celebration of art and technology," said Tom DeVito, vice president and general manager of AT&T in New York and New Jersey. "We hope to continue to support the borough of Brooklyn in any way possible, from promoting the arts to increasing our wireless data and voice capacity to meet the ever-growing demand for AT&T's mobile broadband services across the borough."

Originally conceived and organized by the Dumbo Arts Center in 1997, the Festival has grown and evolved with the changing neighborhood to include more artists, more disciplines and now new media. In 2010, Two Trees Management, a founding sponsor of the Festival, increased its support by managing the production of the Festival - which has since become known at the Dumbo Arts Festival. The Dumbo Arts Festival was produced by Dalzell Productions, led by Karen Dalzell.