Every two years the Gallery of Honour committee of the Quesnel and District Community Arts Council, selects local individuals who have made a significant contribution to the promoting the arts in our community.
This year, they are pleased to announce the inductions of Jean Speare, local author, poet, historian, journalist and supporter of the arts in all its facets, along with Branwen Patenaude, whose award is bestowed posthumously. Branwen is recognized for her many contributions to the community and her accomplishments in the arts as a artist, local historian and writer and her tireless community leadership and volunteerism.
These two women share a love of history and their community and it is amply demonstrated in the legacy each leaves for future generations.
Jean has an impeccable Cariboo pedigree. She was the born in the Quesnel hospital in 1921 to pioneers Bob and Jane Barlow.
The family lived in Kersley, and throughout her life, Jean’s father, Bob, molded and inspired much of Jean’s lasting love of the ranching lifestyle, an appreciation for the outdoors and constantly encouraged Jean as a young girl to write about life in the Cariboo and Cariboo history.
Jean also produced a groundbreaking book about the life of a remarkable Shuswap woman, Mary Augusta Tappage, born in Soda Creek in 1888. The Days of Augusta was published in 1973.
Jean also wrote a number of children’s stories for magazines and publication, one of which was also produced as a live stage play.
Her volunteer work in the community included membership in many groups dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Cariboo history, including Footsteps of the Past (2008) through the Wordspinners, many newspaper publication submissions, and as an active member of such historical groups as the Friends of the Museum and Archives.
Jean’s second husband, Bill Speare, was a provincial MLA, and in co-operation with her husband, she spearheaded the centennial project to have Barkerville established as Barkerville Heritage Park in 1958.
Although she acknowledges her daughter, Heather, as the painter in the family, Jean has also achieved much recognition for her own painting endeavors.
Branwen enjoyed 56 years of her life in the Cariboo from 1960 until her death in 2016.
She devoted a tremendous amount of her time to enhancing the culture of the community.
In addition to being a talented and accomplished artist, she became known in the community and around the province and the country as a local historian and writer, with nine published local history books and countless magazine articles.
Just as significant are the 50-plus years she spent as a tireless local community leader and volunteer, actively organizing or serving as a founding member of virtually every local cultural group in the area, including the Quesnel Arts Society, (now known as Quesnel arts Council), the Wells Island Mountain School of Arts, the Quesnel Paddlewheelers Association, the Quesnel and District Heritage Association, the Quesnel branch of the Cariboo Historical Society, the Quesnel & District Museum and Heritage Commission and the Friends of Barkerville.
She also represented the North Cariboo on various heritage advisory committees and provincial bodies.
Throughout her years in Quesnel, Branwen accomplished much for both arts and heritage and was a founding member of many ongoing societies and associations.
Both Jean Speare and Branwen Patenaude had several testimonials included in their nomination for this very prestigious honour.
“It’s a privilege to induct these two very accomplished women into the Gallery of Honour,” Gallery of Honour committee member Cathy Heinzelman says.
The public is invited to join the celebration of Jean Speare and Branwen Patenaude (posthumously) into the Gallery of Honour, Feb. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Arts Foyer.
Attendees are also invited to view the new February show in the Quesnel Art Gallery Art – It’s in Our Nature, which runs from Feb. 2 to March 3.Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.