The Brandon Art Club was founded in November 1907, and operated in an art studio on the top floor of the Brandon College Women's Residence. The club appears to have been the creation of Miss. H. Hancock, who became the Director of the Department of Art at Brandon College c. 1907. The club moved to larger facilities made available at the First Methodist Church; the organization remained there until sometime during the Great War when the club relocated to St. Paul's Presbyterian Church and then in 1921, to the Prince Edward Hotel. The club's first public art exhibitions were held at the Prince Edward Hotel. Art classes were held for the first time in 1928. In 1968, the Brandon Art Club merged with the Allied Arts Center, which had been formed in 1959. The Allied Arts Center was located at 1036 Louise Avenue. In April 1984, the Allied Arts Center was moved to new facilities at the Arts Center of Western Manitoba located at 638 Princess Avenue. In 1989, it was renamed the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, and began to function as a "professional, regional art gallery." The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba relocated to 2-710 Rosser Ave. c. 2001.
Custodial History
These records were created at different times between 1907 and 1993, and remained in the possession of the administration of the above mentioned organizations until May 2001, when they where donated to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains administrative records, minutes, personal files, correspondence, newsletters, photographs, summaries of collections and exhibits, scrapbooks, programs, submitted papers, and other miscellaneous records. All are a record of the growth and evolution of the Art Club, its administration, and of the art community in Brandon.
The A.E. McKenzie Company fonds (RG 3 MG 1, 1.3) located in the McKee Archives contains some records, primarily correspondence and minutes, relating to the Brandon Allied Arts Council.
The Brandon Folk, Music, and Art Society, Inc. has been in existence since 1985, when it was founded by a group of Westman people interested in providing an alternative art and music festival for the western Manitoba region. That group sponsored the first annual Brandon Folk, Music, and Art Festival in September of 1985 and established the community-based, non-profit structure of the Society.
The Society's main goal is to provide musicians, artists and artisans with an opportunity to perform or display their talents on a professional level. The Society provides for its members and aspiring artists by sponsoring an annual Festival, coffeehouses, socials and other performances at local establishments, featuring local and touring performers.
The Society is governed by a volunteer board of directors from many sectors of the local community.
Custodial History
Recrods in accession 19-2008 were in the possession of the Brandon Folk, Music & Art Society prior to their donation to the archives in September 2008.
Scope and Content
Accession 17-2008 (12 cm, 1985-1988) consists of 10 files containing promotional materials, meeting minutes and planning documents for Society's annual music festival.
Accession 19-2008 (63 cm, 1981-2008) consists of: minutes, festival programs, publications, posters, financial records, correspondence; miscellaneous photographs.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from Society records. Description by Donna Lowe and Christy Henry.
The Brandon College and Brandon University Art Exhibition Committee was active from 1960 to 1972. The Committee was established to promote the visual arts in Brandon through education and to sponsor exhibitions featuring the work of local artists.
Custodial History
The records were assembled by Robert Inch of the Brandon University Extension Office and Professor D.V. Reilly, who taught art through the Faculty of Education at Brandon University. They were donated to the McKee Archives in 1997.
Scope and Content
The sub-series contains records of past exhibitions, minutes and correspondence of the Brandon University Art Exhibition Committee. Sub-series also contains personal files on some artists consisting of correspondence and information pertaining to exhibitions of their work. There are also extensive files on past exhibits including advertising, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications and files concerning local affiliated art clubs, such as the Student Camera Club at Brandon University.
Professor John Weldon Grant was born 12 March 1919 in Sunnybrae, Nova Scotia, son of Alec and Linda Grant. He was raised in Sunnybrae and graduated from Pictou Academy in 1937. Prof. Grant entered Pine Hill Divinity School to study Theology. During his ministerial internship, he taught and preached in Rabbit Lake and Biggar, Saskatchewan. He graduated from Pine Hill in 1943 and entered the mission field with the United Church.
Professor Grant moved to Trinidad & Tobago in the 1940s. There he taught in both San Fernando and Siparia, towns located in the southwest tip of the island. Weldon Grant was the first head master off the Iere High School School in Siparia when it opened in 1955. Professor Grant is recalled by Kenneth Ramchand in his _The West Indian Novel And Its Background_ as “his beloved English teacher” reading from an early Sam Selvon novel in a “Saskatchewan version of Trinidad dialect.” That he was teaching Selvon – a West Indian writer - testifies to Grant’s cultural pluralism. See Kenneth Ramchaud, _The West Indian Novel and its bachground_ (London: Faber and Faber, 2001 edition).
Professor Grant and Bernice Emma Moats were married in Gray, Saskatchewan 30 June 1954. They adopted three children in Nova Scotia and returned to Trinidad.
In 1961, the Grants returned to Canada. Weldon taught for one year at Vincent Massey High School and then joined the English Department at Brandon University where he taught in the English department until his retirement on August 31, 1984.
During a sabbatical he spent six months exploring Ireland and the poets that had been inspired by its countryside. He also loved stories of the sea and read many varied authors, both factual and fiction.
Custodial History
Records were collected by Weldon Grant during his teaching career in Trinidad and Canada.
Scope and Content
In the course of his teaching career in Trinidad & Tobego and at Brandon University Professor Grant acquired and retained a number of items with cultural, scholarly and sentimental value. These incude The First Folio of Shakespeare, prepared by Charlton Himan, [Academic ed.]. Imprint New York : W.W. Norton, 1968. xxvii, 928 p. : port. ; 37 cm. Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true original copies. London, Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount, 1623.
The facsimile is described as "an ideal copy in which each page represents the best page selected from one of the 29 most satisfactory copies of the 80 copies in the Folger Shakespeare Library."
1 Self prononcing Holy Bible, Oxford 1910.
1 print 22.4" x 17," "Baking in a Clay Oven," by Trinidad artist David Moore, June 1977 printed in Trinidad by the College Press.
2 water colour paintings 17.5" x 12" by artist "AM." One titled San Fernando (1961) one titled Royal Palm, Trinidad (1960).
1 black and white portrait 10" x 13" of Governor general Roland Michener and his wife (No: A-2) copyright Karsh dated 1970.
1 Asian art work, 12.5" x 18" embroidery on silk.
Notes
Weldon Grant history/bio from Weldon Grant obituary Brandon Daily Sun c. April 14, 1999.
The Brandon Aboriginal Literary Festival was presented by the Brandon University Faculty of Arts and the John E. Robbins Library. It was held October 25-27, 2007 in the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre and the Lorne Watson Recital Hall at Brandon University and included readings, panels, performances and a Saturday night social with the Juno-nominated Billy Joe Green Band.
Participants included: Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm; Annharte; Joanne Arnott; Di Brandt; Linda Burridge; Maria Campbell; Warren Cariou; Colleen Cutschall; Rosanna Deerchild; Paul DePasquale; Marilyn Dumont; Susan Dupis, Billy Joe Green; Scott Grills; Louise Halfe; Tomson Highway; Erroll Kinistino; Dale Lakevold; Emma LaRocque; Roberta Mackinnon; Lorraine Mayer; Neal Mcleod; Duncan Mercredi; Daniel David Moses; Beatrice (Culleton) Mosionier; Yvette Nolan; Jill Oman; Darrell Racine; Eden Robinson; Armand Garnet Ruffo; Gregory Scofield; Marvin Smoker; Richard Van Camp; Katherena Vermette; and Lynn Whidden.
A second festival, held under the name Ogamas Aboriginal Literary Festival, was held in October 2009.
Custodial History
Records in the sub sub series were donated to the McKee Archives by Linda Burridge, University Librarian and Festival Committee member in November 2007, October and November 2008 and July 2009.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of festival documents created by the Festival Committee and collected by Linda Burridge. Sub sub series also contains photographs, taken by John Jacobson, of festival participants, volunteers, and attendees.
Accruals
Linda Burridge will be forwarding electronic files related to the festival.
Storage Location
Textual records:
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.4 Library special events
Photographs:
Hard copy CD is located with the textual records. Descriptions use the 5-2009 accession number.
Files consist of correspondence and other documents related to a SSHRC grant for the acquisition of the William S. Gray Research Collection in Reading for the E.L. Christie Education Library at Brandon University.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
Box 2
