Board Members of the Barkerville Heritage Trust accept the Service Award, while Two Rivers Art Gallery Curator, George Harris (far right), accepts on behalf of the Publication Award recipients    photo submitted

Prince George, BC – The Prince George Public Library announced the 2015 recipients of the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Awards at a reception held at the Bob Harkins branch last night…

Members of the Barkerville Heritage Trust were on hand to accept the Service Award for an exhibition examining the history of Chinese immigrants who came to Barkerville in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Featuring archival photographs by Chinese-Canadian photographer Chow Dong Hoy, dioramas, an interactive computer kiosk and a bilingual book, the exhibition has toured in Canada and China and has been praised as a strong tribute to our regional history.

This year’s Publication Award went to UBC Professors Charlotte Townsend-Gault and Jennifer Kramer, and Nuuchaanulth historian and poet, Ki-ke-in, who edited the book, ‘Native Art of the Northwest Coast: A history of changing ideas.’  The award was accepted on behalf of the recipients by Two Rivers Art Gallery Curator, George Harris.

The 2015 awards mark the 30th annual presentation to individuals and organizations who’ve made an outstanding contribution to the field of Northern BC history.  They were named in memory of long-time Prince George resident, Jeanne Clarke, who was a founding member of the library’s local history committee.