Awards and Achievements

• Graduate of Acadia University – Middleton, Nova Scotia
• One of the first female Master’s Degree graduates at McGill University - 1947
• Instrumental in staring the first public school library in Saskatoon - Brunskill Elementary
• President of Home and School(?)
• Blue Jay, Natural History Society(?)
• Instrumental is starting Saskatoon’s first youth basketball league
• Raised four children, who all became graduates from the University of Saskatchewan
• Thelma joined Saskatoon’s Photographer’s Gallery in 1980.
• After receiving a grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Thelma produced A Visual Heritage – a collection of black and white prints from original negatives of her father’s and grandfather’s collection. The exhibition was presented at the McDonald Centre in Middleton, Nova Scotia and the Diefenbaker Centre in Saskatoon.
• After her four children had left home, Thelma volunteered countless hours at a local nursing home. Inspired by the residents' stories, she began documenting their lives through photography. This work, and the passion behind it, culminated in her first solo exhibition, Decades of Voices (1985). The show comprised of large scale black and white framed portraits and panorama prints, as well as taped interviews with her subjects.
• Thelma’s 1985 exhibition, Decades of Voices, where she both shot and printed all her own photographs, visually articulates stories of elderly woman, who, as homesteaders, were integral to the opening of the Canadian West. Creating the portraits was a deeply personal exchange, following years of volunteer reading at a local nursing home. After listening to their stories, only then did the woman release, allowing Thelma to discern and capture the “divine spirit” radiant in each.
• Decades of Voices was exhibited in seven provinces and one territory, and was presented at Fotofeis 95, an international photographic exhibition and festival in Inverness, Scotland. The Scotsman (Scotland’s national newspaper) ran five full pages on Decades of Voices - the most coverage ever given to a festival show or any exhibition.
• Thelma’s third major exhibition, Spaces of Belonging - A Journey along Highway 41 (1995), depicts the human faces in a prairie geography now swiftly changing - as scores of once vibrant small communities began shrinking and disappearing. Thelma’s photographs focus on some who joined that erosion, and also on others who decided to stay. The exhibition included taped interviews with many of the portrait subjects. Note: the exhibition travelled to 19 separate art galleries across Saskatchewan.
• Thelma’s next photographic collection, Untie the Spirit (2006), was an offshoot of a personal experience. Thelma’s husband Jim Pepper spent the final three years of his life at the Sherbrooke Community Centre, a long term care home, which had recently adopted a remarkable new model in elder care. In Untie the Spirit, Thelma’s photographs reveal elders living abundant and dynamic lives, vastly different from those comprising the more usual paradigm of the “old folks” home. Note: this exhibition travelled to 18 separate art galleries across the province.
• Thelma Played a key role in developing an arts therapy program at Saskatoon’s Sherbrooke Community Centre
• Sherbrooke Community Centre’s names its restaurant “Peppers” – in honour of Thelma’s contribution to the Centre
• The book, Human Touch: Portraits of Strength, Courage & Dignity draws upon the last three of these major exhibitions that began back in the early 1980's. The book, comprised of over 50 black and white portrait images, includes essays by Grant Arnold and Elizabeth Philips. , as well as a poem written by Lorna Crozier.
• Thelma presents public speech at book launch of Human Touch: Portraits of Strength, Courage and Dignity.
• At the age of 90, Thelma’s book, Human Touch: Portraits of Strength Courage and Dignity was shortlisted for the 2011 Saskatchewan Book Awards' “Book of the Year.”
• Thelma’s work has received nine Canada Council and Saskatchewan Arts Board production and exhibition grants.
• Thelma has played a key role in fostering the development of the arts. The National Film Board film, A Year at Sherbrooke, chronicles her ongoing leadership in the creation of arts programming for long-term care residents.
• National Film Board film, A Year at Sherbrooke, chronicles Thelma’s ongoing leadership in the creation of arts programming for long-term care residents. The film had its world premiere in Toronto, 2010
• Thelma’s work has been exhibited in art galleries and museums across the country, including seven provinces and the Yukon.
• Recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Life Time Achievement Award - 2012
• National Film Board film, A Year at Sherbrooke, chronicles her ongoing leadership in the creation of arts programming for long-term care residents. The film had its world premiere in Toronto, 2010
• Light Unleashed – The Photography of Thelma Pepper, a 30-minute documentary film was televised on both SCN (Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Access TV, from 2008 – 2012. The film also winner - 2009 SMPIA Showcase Award.
• Thelma’s four major photographic  exhibitions are stored in permanent collections across the province, including: the Saskatchewan Arts Board (Regina), Remai Modern (Saskatoon), University of Saskatchewan - Kenderdine Gallery, Mackenzie Art Gallery (Regina)
• Inspired by her work, Saskatchewan poet Lorna Crozier pens a full length poem titled Where Do You want Your Picture Taken?
• At the age of 90, Thelma’s book, Human Touch: Portraits of Strength Courage and Dignity was shortlisted for the 2011 Saskatchewan Book Awards' “Book of the Year.”
• Thelma was the official ‘Patron’ of Saskatchewan Libraries Week, 2012, which included a major retrospective of her work and artist talk at the Francis Morrison Library.

Recent Years:

• Thelma Pepper major photography retrospective at Remai Modern,  2020 - 2021
• Thelma Pepper had a photographic retrospective – Art Placement Gallery, Saskatoon - 2012
• Thelma provided the closing remarks, reflecting on the value of art and the Saskatchewan Arts Board, at the 2016 Saskatchewan Arts Awards (Regina – 2016)
• Thelma’s work was presented at show called ‘Still – The Photography of Thelma Pepper’, at the Hague Gallery in Regina (2017)
• Thelma Pepper continues to give artist talks at schools and community groups, including her most recently at Amy McClure House (Saskatoon - 2017)

‍General Comments:

• Thelma has achieved regional, national and international recognition for her skill in documenting the impact of locations and economic realities on individual lives. Her unique quality of building a sense of trust with her subjects, attained by listening to their personal stories and life challenges, significantly contributes to her photographic process. The resulting work poignantly reveals the inner, emotional and spiritual characteristics of her individual subjects.
• Thelma's contribution to the artistic and cultural history of the province has been enormous. She is, and will continue to be, a true Saskatchewan treasure.