Gregory Burns | |
---|---|
Born | 1957 (age 65–66) |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Painting |
Spouse | Angie Tan-Burns |
Website | gregoryburns |
Gregory Burns, MFA, (born 1957) is an American athlete, painter, author, motivational speaker and member of Art of the Olympians. As a competitive swimmer, Burns represented the USA in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Paralympic Games, winning two gold, two silver and one bronze medal; he has set 5 World records and numerous American records. As a contemporary artist, his paintings have been exhibited in over 80 solo exhibitions and group exhibitions in 15 different countries; Burns has conducted 40 Artist-in-Residence programs around the globe. He is the recipient of the United States Sports Academy’s 2016 Sport Artist of the Year award, (painter). As an author, Burns has published three books in English and Mandarin. As a motivational speaker, Burns has inspired thousands of adults and children while covering a wide range of interests such as sports, arts, motivation, mental wellness, business, culture, and creativity. [1]
Gregory Burns was born in Washington, D.C. in 1957. His father, Robert J. Burns, served in the diplomatic corps, and as a result he spent 10 years of his childhood abroad. He contracted polio in Jerusalem in 1958, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. At age three, he took to the water to learn to swim. At age six, he began painting lessons while living in Paris. His early schooling took place in France, Germany, Maryland, and the Netherlands. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a minor in Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1976-1980), [1] and a Master in Painting (MFA) in 1999 from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia.
As a competitive swimmer, Burns represented the USA in the 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), and 2000 (Sydney) Paralympic Games, winning two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. [2] [3] He set 5 world records in Paralympic swimming and numerous national records. Retiring from the Paralympics in 2004, he transitioned into endurance sporting events; Burns completed the 2006 Korea IronMan race and the Singapore Half-IronMan races in 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012. [4] Burns is also an avid scuba diver, surfer, hiker, hand cyclist and sit-down snow skier.
As a contemporary artist, Burns has been described as an abstract impressionist. [5] Burns conducted postgraduate studies at (1) Cabrillo College, near Santa Cruz, California, studying commercial and fine art (1982-1984), (2) Chung Da University/National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, studying Chinese painting & calligraphy and history (in Mandarin; 1984-1985), and (3) Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, earning a Master of Fine Art in Painting (1998-1999). His paintings have been shown in 80 solo exhibitions plus dozens of group exhibitions in 15 countries. [6] Burns has conducted 40 Artist-in-Residence programs around the globe. [1] He is the recipient of the United States Sports Academy’s 2016 Sport Artist of the Year award (painter).
As a philanthropist, since 1984, Burns has supported numerous disadvantaged children’s groups and communities throughout Asia and the USA. For several years, the US Embassy sent Burns deep into the fabric of China, Mongolia and Singapore as a Cultural Ambassador to share his uplifting message with thousands of locals. In the spirit of Robin Hood, Burns has endeavored to inspire people with disabilities and children who have experienced trauma or poverty to rise above their limitations. During a charity auction in Beijing, one of Burns' paintings sold for USD $90,000 which was used to build a school in rural China.
As an author, Burns has published three books: Painted Journey [7] (2005) and The Art of Mindfulness (2014) in English, and Color Your Life (2008) in Mandarin.
As a motivational speaker, Burns' topics include the following:
• Beyond Limitations, One Step at a Time: Going beyond self-imposed limitations.
• The Hero’s Journey: Referencing Joseph Campbell’s seminal writings on the stages of life.
• Adapting & Balancing Work and Personal Life: Maintaining a holistic view of one’s personal and professional activities.
• The Artist’s Journey: Embracing the artist within.
• Disability Awareness: Embracing disability and diversity.
Burns also conducts arts-based, team-building, and creativity workshops with the following themes: [8]
• Visualizing Company Culture through Art: Hands-on art-making workshop.
• Shared Mind-sets of Great Leaders & Artists: Identifying 6 critical approaches to business and creativity, which successful Leaders and Artists have in common.
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games, winning 29 medals. She has also won over 50 world championship medals.
Trischa Zorn is an American Paralympic swimmer. Blind from birth, she competed in Paralympic swimming. She is the most successful athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games, having won 55 medals, and was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2012. She took the Paralympic Oath for athletes at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta.
Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four Summer Paralympic Games from 2008, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Lynette Margaret "Lyn" Lillecrapp, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She contracted paralytic polio at the age of two months. Lillecrapp started her competitive swimming career in 1974, and competed at the 1976 Toronto, 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Paralympics.
S11, SB11, SM11 are disability swimming classifications for blind swimmers.
Ahmed Kelly is an Iraqi-born Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, his third games, he won the silver medal in the Men's 150 m individual medley SM3.
Sean Russo is an Australian swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Grant Patterson is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, his second games, he won a silver and bronze medal.
Jennifer Frances Newstead is a former paralympic swimmer from New Zealand who competed mainly in category S5 events. She won a total of 10 Paralympic medals, including seven gold medals, and broke 37 world records in her career.
Joseph William Walker, OAM is an Australian swimmer with an intellectual disability. At the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with Mental Handicap, he won nine gold medals from nine events.
Timothy Malcolm (Disko) Disken, is an Australian paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships and won bronze in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle S9, a silver medal in the men's S9 50m freestyle and a bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley SM9. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Denis Tarasov is a Paralympic swimmer from Russia competing mainly in category S8 events. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London he won five medals, including gold in the 50 metre freestyle S8 event. He has represented Russia at two IPC World Championships with a total of 12 medals. At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow he set four world records, two as part of Russian relay teams and two individual records, in the 50m and 100m freestyle S8 events.
Thomas Young is a British Paralympic swimmer. He represented Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics and has won medals at both the long course and short course World Championships.
Jeanette Clare Chippington, is a British Paralympic swimmer and paracanoeist. Chippington has represented Great Britain at seven Paralympics, five in swimming Summer Paralympics, 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Competing as a S6 classification swimmer she favoured mainly 50 m and 100m freestyle competitions. After retiring from swimming Chippington returned to disability sport, becoming a world class paracanoeist, winning gold at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and bronze at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Robin Hugh Surgeoner is a British retired swimmer. He won nine gold medals across three Paralympic Games competing as a British Paralympian in C4 events. Surgeoner was one of the original members of the British Paralympic Association committee. He now works as a Swim Coach, as an inclusion empowerment consultant and musician.
Beate Lobenstein is a German para swimmer. She competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold, four silver and five bronze medals.
Yvonne Hopf is a German paralympic athlete. At the 1996 Summer Paralympic Games in Atlanta, she won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal in the B3. For their Olympic victories, Yvonne Hopf and her relay teammates were awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf by the Federal President.