When one of Queen’s most prominent supporters, the late Isabel Bader, LLD ’07, used to visit the Queen’s campus, taking a break for afternoon tea was always a tradition.
So what better way to celebrate what would have been her 97th birthday on Nov. 1 than with an afternoon tea party in three countries? Celebrations are taking place in Milwaukee, Wis., (where she spent the later years of her life) and at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston and at Bader College in England – two Queen’s locations loved by Isabel and made possible by Bader family’s generosity.
“Isabel loved tea, so an afternoon tea is a wonderful way to celebrate the impact she continues to have on Queen’s and the performing arts across Canada,” says Gordon E. Smith, interim director of the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.
Isabel, who passed away in 2022, and her late husband, Alfred, BSc'45, BA'46, Msc'47, LLD'86, and the family’s charitable foundation Bader Philanthropies, Inc., transformed the university through their generosity.
The $72-million Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts was funded mainly by the Bader family and Bader Philanthropies, Inc. and opened in 2014 to architectural and cultural acclaim.
“I love when an artist who hasn’t played here walks onto the stage in the Concert Hall and they say, ‘This is absolutely amazing.’ Word gets around and we're now well known in the performing arts world,” says Smith. “The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts is an inspiring world-class venue that the university and the wider community should be proud of. The last time I spoke to Isabel, she continued to be excited and proud of the Centre’s reputation.”
Isabel had always been involved in education and the arts.
She taught for 28 years at a girls’ school in Bexhill-on-Sea in England where she co-founded the costume collection that is now at the Bexhill Museum. She was particularly fond of making costumes for the school’s productions. As a teacher who was passionate about theatre and music, she saw firsthand how the right tools and programs can help students.
That passion to help students extended to Queen’s.
Many people in the Queen’s community are familiar with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Bader College, and the Bader Collection (comprised of more than 500 works of art, including several paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn).
However, her impact goes beyond those three high-profile endeavours.
She funded the Collection of Canadian Dress at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, which provides a greater understanding of social and economic history through fashion items from the late 1700s to 1970s. Isabel also funded the Bader Chair in Art Conservation and the Isabel Bader Fellowship and Graduate Internship in Textile Conservation and Research (to advance research in the conservation and interpretation of historical dress and textiles).
“We have experts conducting and sharing new research on the care of those collections. We attract national and international professionals and through that fellowship, Isabel brought international recognition to Queen’s for the research work we do here,” says Alicia Boutilier, Chief Curator/Curator of Canadian Historical Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.
Isabel funded many student awards and bursaries in music, drama, and art conservation. Together, with Bader Philanthropies, Inc., she also created competitions for piano, cello, and violin to help emerging classical musicians across Canada by giving them a platform to gain national exposure and boost their careers.
Her love of music and children inspired her to support Sistema Kingston, a free after-school music program that inspires elementary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to teach teamwork, build personal persistence, and foster creativity.
Later in her life, she promoted Truth and Reconciliation initiatives by supporting Indigenous arts programs such as the Ka’tarohkwi Festival of Indigenous Arts at Queen’s in 2019. Through the Bader Philanthropies, Inc. Foundation, she helped create the Curatorship in Indigenous Arts and Culture at Agnes. The Agnes is the only university-museum in this country to have such a position.
Isabel passed away on Aug. 28, 2022, in Milwaukee, Wis., and her legacy will never be forgotten.
