J. Shepard “Shep” and Mary Ann Bryan loved Jacksonville, where they raised their five children, developed deep and abiding friendships, and prospered. For Shep, the act of giving back was an imperative inspired by his Christian faith. Mary Ann was an artist herself, who expressed the beauty and complexity of life through her work.
“For as long as I can remember, my parents promoted community service and providing for those in need,” said Dr. Frances Evans Bryan. “That’s just who they were.”
“My parents were truly loving and generous people who cared about the people and world around them,” remembered Helen Harris Bryan.
In 2000, the J. Shepard and Mary Ann Bryan Art Ventures Endowment was established at The Community Foundation to support the arts in Northeast Florida in perpetuity. To date, it has made more than $XX in grants to support individual artists and small arts organizations, managed by Amy Crane, Senior Director of Grantmaking.
Shep and Mary Ann enjoyed long, active lives that allowed them to see the fruits of their gift as it benefited the local arts community, before Shep passed away in 2022 at age 100, and Mary Ann in 2023 at age 94.
“Our parents’ presence in this world is sorely missed,” Courtney said. “I know I speak for all my siblings when I say that we feel both honored and blessed to have had them as our parents and to know that their love of the community, the arts, and support for those in need can live on through the endowment.”
“I think that this endowment represents their combined spirits of generosity, nurturing, and optimism,” said Ann Shands Bryan. “They both believed that although life can be hard at times, there are moments of great beauty and transcendence.”
Shameera Wiest, a 2022 Art Ventures gratee and multidisciplinary visual artist, is one of the many artists whose work has been supported through the J. Shepard, Jr., and Mary Ann Bryan Art Ventures Endowment.