Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award Past Recipients

Caitlin Gallupe is an artist from Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in Visual Arts and Art History, and is currently in her final year of completing the Professional Specialization Certificate in Collections Management. Her interest in Collections Management and Cultural Resource Management is focused on the preservation and conservation of cultural, historic and artistic objects, and aspires to attend a graduate Art Conservation program with the objective of one day doing conservation work locally. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award will help her achieve her goal of working in Art Conservation by supporting her studies and professional growth.

Shannon Lake is a Cultural Resource Management (CRM) diploma student committed to fostering community engagement in heritage and the arts. Since the fall of 2020 she has been working at UVic Legacy Art Galleries where she organizes events and educational programs that complement the gallery’s exhibitions. She is an active member of the BC Museums Association and brings years of experience in marketing and communication. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award will support her final semester of studies in the CRM program, which will focus on community, engagement, and social change.

Rebekah Cobb is nearing the completion of her program in Cultural Resource Management at the University of Victoria. She has 15 years of work experience in cultural heritage institutions. For the past 3 years, she has served as the Registrar for the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University. A lover of learning, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling and a Master of Science in Personnel Services both from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Melissa Dunham is completing her final semester of the Professional Specialization Certificate (PSC) in Collections Management program. She has over nine-years of experience in the heritage industry. She has worked in archaeology laboratories, in museums, at Cultural Resource Management (CRM) firms, and on municipal heritage advisory committees. Melissa holds a BA in Archaeology and History from Wilfrid Laurier University, and will be pursuing a MA in Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Leicester. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award will provide Melissa with the resources she needs to complete her PSC program. 

Trisha Dalke is nearing the completion of her Honours BA in Art History and Visual Studies with a minor in Museum Studies, as well as the Professional Specialization Certificate (PSC) in Collections Management. She has volunteered at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, as a tour guide in Florence, Italy, and is looking forward to using her knowledge and experience in her new role as Co-Director of the Little Prairie Heritage Museum in Chetwynd, BC. Aspiring to pursue a Master's degree in Art Conservation, the Caring for Museum Collections course will provide Trisha with valuable knowledge on agents of deterioration and preventative conservation methods which she can build upon. As a recipient of the Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award, Trisha will be provided with the support to achieve her educational and professional goals. 

Jenny Francoeur is beginning her second semester in the Collections Management program at the University of Victoria. She has always loved learning about lesser-known moments in history, which inspired her to pursue a BA in Anthropology and History and an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Victoria. She enjoys working with objects, records, and stories, and has volunteered with large and small museums, archives, and heritage organizations in Victoria, Oak Bay, and Saanichton, BC. Jenny’s goal is to work in a local museum to help preserve and protect the important but often underrepresented moments in a community’s history. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award will help Jenny further develop her Collections skills to help her achieve this goal.

Rosemary Kemp is nearing the completion of her program in Cultural Resource Management at the University of Victoria, and is committed to a career in the cultural sector. Her work at various arts organizations in the city, including the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Victoria Arts Council, helped her realize her passion for the preservation, research and exhibition of culturally significant objects. She holds a Diploma of Fine Art from the Victoria College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Victoria, and is planning to pursue a Master’s degree in art history. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award will provide support for Rosemary’s development of valuable, practical knowledge in the preservation of heritage objects through her participation in the Caring for Collections course.

Lorinda Fraser is currently a student in the Collections Management Professional Specialization Certificate (PSC) program. In 2017, she completed a BA in Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Victoria and earned a MSc in Museum Studies from the University of Glasgow in 2018, focussing on the ways in which social contexts are made evident through art, objects, and archival records. Seeking to transition into a career in the cultural heritage sector, Lorinda has greatly benefited from the applied learning experiences made possible through the PSC program. In January 2020, she will begin a second term position as auxiliary archivist at the BC Archives, the partner organization for her PSC courses. ​

Michaela Sawyer is nearing completion of her diploma in the Cultural Resource Management program. She has also completed a BA from SFU and a Managing Archeological Collections course. She is passionate about the cultural field and plans to pursue her Master’s Degree once she has completed the diploma. As the recipient of the first Oak Bay Heritage Foundation Award, Michaela is closer to achieving her educational goals.