Oki. Taan-shi. Dâ âûch yahine.
Gwanistłi naniya. Bienvenue.
Welcome.
We recognize, with deep respect and gratitude, our home on the side of Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. In the spirit of respect and truth, we honour and acknowledge the Banff area, known as “Mînî hrpa” (translated in Stoney Nakoda as “the waterfalls”) and the Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda)—comprised of the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney Nations—as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy comprised of the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Shuswap Nations, Ktunaxa Nations, and Métis Nation of Alberta, Rockyview District 4. We acknowledge all Nations who live, work, and play here, help us steward this land, and honour and celebrate this place.
Rooted in the adaptation of the Seven Sacred Teachings, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Right Relations Agreement serves as a foundational guide for how we work, learn, and build community together.
Grounded in teachings such as Truth, Humility, and Respect, it reflects a shared commitment to fostering meaningful relationships, accountability, and Reconciliation.
Message from the President
Welcome to the 2025–26 edition of Reflections. The image on the front cover—Cheryl L’Hirondelle’s performance artwork yāhkaskwan mīhkiwap (aka light tipi) is illustrative of the stunning vistas that surround our campus, which remind us daily that Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain has been a meeting place long before there was a Banff Centre.
It’s why it’s such a fitting place for an organization like ours: a post-secondary learning institution with a core mission to bring people together to have important conversations, think creatively, share perspectives, and leave feeling inspired to create a better world.
I had the privilege of learning more about this history in the process of opening Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect, Banff Centre’s first dedicated space for Indigenous participants, program leadership and other visitors from nations around the globe. The name was gifted by Stoney Nakoda Elders to Banff Centre to honour the mountain’s history and to create a welcoming environment of respect for one another.
The spirit of welcoming has been present throughout Banff Centre’s 2025–26 year. A few landmark events demonstrated this in big, bold ways, including hosting the
International Media Centre for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis and Canada’s first National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture.
We also welcomed nine incredible quartets from around the world for the 15th triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition and celebrated five decades of mountain culture at the 50th anniversary Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. Of course, there were also the myriad small ways we welcome guests to campus every single day: so much of our program planning is about creating environments to help artists, leaders, and other visitors feel comfortable, cared for, and able to let their minds truly expand.
This was also a strong financial year. Our surplus funds will allow us to invest in critical system and infrastructure needs, laying a strong foundation as we near Banff Centre’s 100th anniversary in 2033.
I want to thank everyone who made this year possible, including our staff, volunteers, participants, audiences, conference clients, and all who came to visit us.
Chris Lorway President and CEO
Cover: Cheryl L’Hirondelle, yahkāskwan mīhkiwap (aka Light Tipi), 2026. Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Photographer: Abigaile Edwards. Courtesy of Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Opposite: Banff Centre Campus, photo by Chris Amat.
Above: Chris Lorway, photo by Rita Taylor.
Reflections 2025 – 26
This was a year of welcoming. We welcomed new spaces, new partners, new visitors, and new ways of being.
See the year at Banff Centre come to life in this Reflections companion video.
Scan the QR code to watch now.
Purpose
Banff Centre exists for the advancement of creative potential that enriches our world.
Mission
Banff Centre brings artists, leaders, and communities together to create, collaborate, share, envision, learn, and be inspired.
Vision
To be a catalyst for creativity and thought, where potential is realized.
To inspire leaders—artists, cultural, business, and community— to conceive powerful ideas and create new work that can be shared with and improve our world.
To experience the power of the mountains, particularly our home on Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain, supported by talented employees and thought leaders, to envision and to create, and be in relationship with our environment and each other.
To be accessible, open, respectful, and welcoming as we build new connections across disciplines and cultures, create new learning opportunities for participants, and enhance and share knowledge and experiences with each other locally and globally.
G7 International Media Centre
Hosting the G7 Summit International Media Centre was an incredibly gratifying moment for our team. Seeing the pride everyone took in what we accomplished, knowing we delivered on the world stage, was truly special. It reflected the heart our teams bring to their work at Banff Centre every day.
Jodi Burke Rinkel Managing Director, Conferences
For an institution as large and complex as Banff Centre, only a few rare projects will truly touch every single employee. Hosting the International Media Centre for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis from June 15–17, 2026 was one of those events.
Those several days of activity were years in the making. Planning began with a small group of leaders before gradually expanding to involve every team: Conferences, Finance, Facilities, Security, IT, HR, Hospitality, Marketing and Communications, Participant Services, Digital Arts, Development, Arts and Leadership Programs... everyone. Even staff not directly involved in the project were impacted: those not required on site agreed to work from home during the period of high-security activity. Thanks to our hybrid remote work agreements, we were already prepared to facilitate this change.
In total, over 500 international journalists and 200 delegates, government staff, and suppliers were welcomed to our stunning 43-acre campus, whose mountain views provided the backdrop for countless live reports broadcast around the world.
The event took over a year of detailed operations and logistics planning for work that spanned 36 meeting rooms, four dining areas, and five thousand hotel nights. Teams worked around the clock for 24/7 technical service and food and beverage operation to ensure every time zone received up-to-date news.
Working closely with our partners at Global Affairs Canada, the Town of Banff, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the G7 International Media Centre was executed seamlessly, with impeccable feedback from attendees and staff. Not only did every Banff Centre team rise to the occasion, but our usual level of annual programming was not impacted. Playing a pivotal role in a historic event, Banff Centre again fulfilled our mission as an organization dedicated to providing space for conversations that can enrich our world.
Opposite: Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth: Saputjiji.
Top: Banff Centre Food and Beverage staff,
Media Centre.
Bottom Right:
Photos by Rita Taylor.
Community Connections
Banff Centre welcomes our community to campus through events, facilities, and public services, recognizing our role as a key source of well-being and connection in southern Alberta.
As a post-secondary institution, our mission is to provide training and development opportunities in arts, leadership, Indigenous culture, and mountain culture. In 2025–26, we ran 79 programs for over 1,300 participants from 28 different countries.
But many of our campus resources— from Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation, to our restaurants Maclab Bistro and Vistas Dining Room, to our performance venues like the Jenny Belzberg Theatre and Rolston Recital Hall remain important resources for entertainment, exercise, and social interaction. Ongoing maintenance projects and updates will ensure those spaces remain in operation to fulfill these vital functions.
This year, we added another muchneeded food and beverage option to campus by reviving Le Café, a to-go counter serving coffee, beverages, takeaway lunches, and grab-and-go snacks. Our food and beverage team also made a splash at the annual Made with Love Banff food festival, offering a tasty quesabirria and a “Bloody Sally” cocktail and mocktail.
Our roster of free events also levelled up this year with the arrival of CLVB ’33, a new, intimate space to host events including Literary Cabarets and Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival socials, as well as new initiatives like open mics and karaoke nights. Visual Arts continued its free Open Studios events and faculty lectures series, while Indigenous Arts held free art-making workshops for National Indigenous History Month and the year-long Decolonizing the Narrative series.
Mountain Culture also held the ever-popular Avalanche Awareness Night, once again drawing nearly 300 attendees to the Max Bell Auditorium.
In a special moment of community alignment, Banff Centre found a new home for the yurt, previously located on the edge of the Shaw Amphitheatre. It was de-installed in April 2025 for a new life with the Indigenous-led organization, Miskanawah. It now lives on their land-base, askiy-pimatsiwin, to facilitate programs that support family, youth, clinical and cultural mental health, housing, and cultural and ceremonial services. Banff Centre is developing plans for the space formerly occupied by the yurt, with the goal of continuing to welcome Indigenous groups and increasing on-site Nation representation.
Above: Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite Top Right: Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi
Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Opposite Bottom Left (left to right): Erin Dixon, Elder Dila Houle, Simon Ross, and Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa
Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect Opening Celebration, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect
When President and CEO Chris Lorway joined Banff Centre in 2024, he heard from all levels of the organization that high on the list of priorities to tackle was the need for a permanent space on campus to welcome Indigenous groups, programs, and events.
So, when the time came to renovate two historical buildings—the original chalets built on campus in the 1940s—and transform them from residences into artist studios and staff offices, the choice was simple. One, Vinci Hall, became the new home of participants with a focus on writing. The other, Farrally Hall, was given a new role as Banff Centre’s first building dedicated to Indigenous programs and gatherings and with it, a new name: Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect
The time between that first listening session and the opening of the space was spent in community consultations led by Chris Lorway, Simon Ross, Director, Indigenous Leadership; and Janine Windolph, Director, Indigenous Arts. Given by Elders Charles Rabbit , Alice Kaquitts, Tina Fox, Watson Kaquitts, and Delmer Holloway, all members of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, the Îethka name for “House of Respect” was chosen to honour the role of this land and its significance to many nations, past and present.
Through a pipe ceremony, staff reception, and public open house, Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect officially opened its doors in June 2025. The opening also unveiled artworks that were selected or commissioned by curatorial advisor Becca Taylor and have entered Banff Centre’s permanent collection to coincide with the inauguration of the building. Works by artists from the north, south, east and west of Canada are installed in
the space, including MISS EATING CARIBOU, 2022, and COMPOSITION (PRINTING TOOLS), 2015, by Padloo Samayualie; Present 9 and Present 5 from the series, Manifest Buffalo: A Bison Dream, both 2025, by Adrian Stimson; the commissioned work, rr: sameAS, 2025 by Ursula Johnson; and Food Sovereignty, 2020, and Whale Song, 2025, by Luke Parnell.
Since then, it has been used to host gallery events, programs, group meals, meetings, private gatherings, smudgings, and continues to contribute to Banff Centre’s Journey of Living Reconciliation framework. It also hosts the offices of Banff Centre’s new Director, Access, Inclusion & Indigenous Relations, Deborah Green (Gopher) (kàkikè manitohkân iskwêwak) and our Elder/Knowledge Keeper Helper, Wil Fraser (Naptagajen)
Indigenous Arts
Indigenous Arts had an important year at Banff Centre, playing a critical role with the opening of the first dedicated building to Indigenous culture, Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect.
That space impacted Indigenous Arts’s ability to host its participants this year: the Indigenous Fashion Runway, Indigenous Haute Couture, Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation, and Digital Constellations Production & Post-Production residencies all met for orientation in the kitchen space, giving these artists a sense of home and community.
The connections made during our time together will forever reverberate in our practices. Perhaps it was the voices of the natural materials we all worked with, or the power of the mountains, or the respect and care that was given to each of our projects; every moment was magical.
Diane Blunt Participant, Aknumustiǂis (Natural Law): Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons
This year, artists worked with new and old media, textiles, and technologies for valuecentred work. Participants in the Indigenous Haute Couture program, in collaboration with visual arts facilitators at Banff Centre, explored embellishments in fashion and fashion as an art form. Some artists worked with porcupine quills, while one attached 3D-printed dentalium shells to their dress. At their core, this work considered and represented the values and practices of the designer.
For the Indigenous Fashion Runway program, participants with nearly finished or completed works were given three weeks to produce their own fashion shows. Here, working in collaboration with the Theatre Arts and Production departments, designers brought the vision for their pieces to life, making decisions on branding, communicating design aesthetics, or selecting models. A rare chance for a program director to take the spotlight, literally,
The framework for Indigenous Arts is hospitality and welcoming. Every program is centred that way. It’s how we open and close programs, and how we work with our Knowledge Keepers who serve as faculty.
Janine
Windolph Director, Indigenous Arts
also emerged: Director Janine Windolph took to the runway to model designs from faculty member Valerie St. Pierre Smith.
The Aknumustiǂis (Natural Law): Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons program this year focused on eco-dying and basketmaking workshops with the guidance of Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, Elders, and cultural leaders, which has led to the creation of a pilot program concentrated on basketmaking. The Braided Histories: Basketmaking Residency will be available in 2027.
For over four decades, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has partnered with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in supporting artistic excellence in Canada and beyond. With over $5 million in contributions and a partnership dating back to 1981, RBC has been an integral part of Banff Centre’s journey to unleash artists’ creative potential.
Once again, Indigenous Arts also planned a lineup of events to celebrate National Indigenous History Month in 2025. Alongside a virtual artisan market and film screening, Banff Centre hosted Yellowknife-based Dene musician, Leela Gilday, at the Margaret Greenham Theatre. There were also a series of free workshops: Dene/Cree artisan Suzan Marie hosted two popular, sold-out earring-making workshops, guiding attendees to make their own jewelry from seal skin or fox tail fur. Cherith Mark and Jaylin Simeon also hosted a free powwow dance workshop.
Indigenous Arts also produced six events in the Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series, which ran in a hybrid format this year, livestreaming for those unable to join in person. This year’s guests included playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice, and actor, producer, director, and screenwriter Georgina Lightning.
Indigenous Arts programs at Banff Centre were supported by Future Generations Foundation, Indigenous Screen Office, and RBC Foundation.
RBC has helped empower generations of artists across disciplines through Banff Centre’s Artist Fund, opening doors to transformative learning and creative development. More recently, we are especially proud to support Indigenous Arts residencies that uplift Indigenous voices, knowledge, and storytelling— an essential part of strengthening cultural understanding and shaping a more inclusive future.
Jerilynn Daniels Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship, RBC
Opposite: Indigenous Fashion Runway, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Above: Mauna Delau, Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation Residency 2026, photo by Rita Taylor.
Theatre and Dance
Neither words nor pictures can do Banff Centre justice.
Manoella Cavalcanti Participant,
Dancers Intensive 2026
While some areas of theatre and dance often look back and revive older, iconic works, Banff Centre’s role in the performing arts landscape is as a much-needed resource for the development of new works and training actors, playwrights, directors, stage managers, producers, dancers, and opera performers. Director, Theatre Arts Amiel Gladstone focused the department’s 2025–26 programming on providing opportunities for creation and workshopping new pieces—written, composed, or choreographed—with an end goal of exploring ways to facilitate touring productions.
If anything was revived this year, it was the drive and passion that brought many participants to performance in the first place. Closing out the Dancers Intensive 2026 with faculty Cyril Baldy, Marie Gyselbrecht, and Kirsten Wicklund, the young dancers joined in a circle—a common practice at the end of all Theatre and Dance residencies—to talk about their experience. Many dancers felt renewed energy and joy for dancing. A common theme was rebirth, as though they were shedding old skin and coming back to their art fresh and new.
Other programs this year included Slaight Premieres Producer Intensive, Slaight Premieres Stage Management Intensive, and the annual Playwrights Lab The New Play Actor Training program continued with a shifted focus for the two-week experience to the working relationship between performer and playwright, giving everyone practical hands-on and developmental experience.
The New Play Actor Training program also connected directly to two new theatre productions, which received their world premiere at Banff Centre: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, co-produced with Alberta Theatre Projects and Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and Kohkom’s Babushka, co-presented with Punctuate! Theatre, and Pyretic Productions. After its October run at Banff Centre, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow went on to Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary, earning the company’s largest audience for a non-holiday production. Kohkom’s Babushka, inspired by the book by Marion Mutala featuring a friendship between Métis and Ukrainian girls, written and directed by real-life best friends Lianna Makuch and Joleen Ballendine, will run in Edmonton in late 2026.
What
I’ve been thinking about is how the world has changed so much and how that has affected live performing art. Now, we’re tasked with how to respond to that with artists in this changing landscape, giving them the tools they’ll need to face the challenges of the world right now.
Amiel Gladstone Director, Theatre Arts
Finally, Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award Residency award winner Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo began her first of two residencies for her work I Dream in Wampum, an Indigenous futurism piece blending a variety of dance styles from Indigenous to contemporary, including roller skating. Her performance will be previewed in April 2026 during her second residency.
Theatre and Dance programs at Banff Centre were supported by Arnold Spohr Distinguished Guest Artist for Dance Endowment, Helen Graham, Maclab Enterprises Endowment, and The Slaight Family Foundation.
The Banff Playwrights Lab is the gold standard for play development around the world. As Canadian writers, we are lucky to have this treasure available to us. I would not be the writer I am today without the assistance of the Banff Centre playwriting programs.
Vern Thiessen Participant, Playwrights Lab
Opposite: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Above: Nicholas Zupanic and Taryn Miller, 2026 Dancer’s Intensive.
Photos by Abigaile Edwards.
The Banff Centre Music team goes above and beyond to facilitate artists taking significant steps in their work, fostering an environment where creativity happens freely, serving and uplifting them for their career outside of Banff.
Michael Falk Director, Music
Opera and Music
In 2025–26, Music had a standout year with seven programs and 28 events that featured Western and non-Western collaborations, a prescient Canadian literary classic, and faculty and participant collaborations. Music welcomed Michael Falk as the new department director, who was most recently a senior leader for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
In May 2025, Soundweavings connected artists to explore their music in collaboration with musicians from all over the world. Within a couple of hours of meeting and sharing their cultural backgrounds and musical styles, participants kicked off with an exercise by program director Haruka Fujii that continued throughout the program. The Japanese exercise “Ma”— meaning to find the space inbetween—provided an opportunity for an improvisational session where participants would play, listen, and then collaborate.
A memorable highlight for participants was a faculty concert by two-time Polaris Prize winner Jeremy Dutcher, German composer Sandeep Bhagwati, Vietnamese musician Nguy ễ n Thanh Th ủ y playing the đàn tranh, and the Australian ensemble Hand to Earth. They led attendees in a moving call-and-response performance of traditional Indigenous songs. Even after the show was over, one could hear attendees still singing the songs and bringing the music out into the world.
This year, the Art of Piano residency introduced a new Participant Showcase component, which included four concerts with each musician performing a mini recital. In one recital, the twotime participant Eden Chen drew inspiration from faculty member Joanna MacGregor’s workshop,
The Art of Curation, for his showcase. His program alternated between works by Maurice Ravel and his own variations on compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
As an artist, it’s rare to find a space that so completely nurtures both the soul and the craft, but Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity does just that. From the moment I arrived, I was
immersed in a community of passionate, generous, and wildly talented individuals. The facilities are worldclass, from the stunning recording studios to the serene rehearsal spaces overlooking the mountains.
Every detail has been designed to support artistic excellence.
Brian O’Dwyer Participant, Soundweavings
The Jazz & Sonic Arts residency explored a layering of sound in one participant showcase that featured the works of three different composers played by six saxophones: Pitchdrama by Declan Sheehy-Moss; Supersonic Elk by Alexandre Roux-Dufort; and Taiyou by Hinano Fujisaki. A feat in instrumentation, this performance was a true act of collaboration.
A collaboration with the Theatre Arts department’s Opera program and Music’s Chamber Music program, Interplay staged a bold production of the opera adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale Composed by Poul Ruders with a libretto by Paul Bentley, this year’s world premiere used a new arrangement by Dan Schlosberg, commissioned by Banff Centre. With The Handmaid’s Tale, both teams met the moment. They staged a challenging and socially relevant piece featuring memorable and deeply felt composition, with press coverage and a packed theatre celebrating the quality of the cast and creative team’s achievement.
The production travelled to Detroit Opera in March 2026, where it was praised as “hauntingly beautiful” having brought “the novel to life onstage with gripping performances and an emotional soundtrack” by the Detroit Metro Times
Opera and Music programs at Banff Centre were supported by David Spencer Emerging Vocalists Endowment, Fondation David R. Graham, Heather Edwards, Helen Graham, Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.
Opposite Left: Hinano Fujisaki, Jazz & Sonic Arts, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Opposite Top Right: Camila Montefusco and Emma Pennell, Interplay The Handmaid’s Tale dress rehearsal, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite Bottom Right: Jeremy Dutcher, Soundweavings participant rehearsal, photo by Rita Taylor.
Literary Arts
We want to make authors, writers, and poets feel welcomed in our spaces in the ways that feel best for them: whether that’s gathering for a meal, watching horror movies, or finding a space they see as a community. And it all starts with writing.
Dr. Derek Beaulieu Director, Literary Arts
On the heels of its 50th anniversary season in 2024–25, the 2025–26 year celebrated a new chapter with new physical spaces for writing participants at Banff Centre, gathering authors and writers in dedicated spots of their own. Vinci Hall re-opened this year, becoming a welcoming space to encourage camaraderie and sharing for a typically solitary art form. The newly renovated building, one of the original campus chalets, now dedicates studio space and outdoor patios for participants with a focus on writing, including Literary Arts participants.
Writers also gathered elsewhere on campus. In Maclab Bistro, during the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, French writers in the Contemporary French Literature residency program cheered alongside Canadian writers during the gold medal men’s hockey game between the U.S. and Canada. CLVB ’33, a brand-new performance space, opened in 2025, hosting Literary Cabarets for writers from all genres. The space—including a new bar—has helped shift the atmosphere of readings into an intimate one that’s become a popular spot for staff, participants, and the general public.
This year included mainstay residencies, including Summer and Deep Winter Writers, while widening the genre scope to offer residencies focused on Horror, Sci-Fi, Young Adult and Children’s Literature, and Comics and Graphic Novels Literary Journalism expanded its residency opportunities to include Memoir and Environmental Writing
Genre residencies brought a fantastic energy to Literary Arts. Horror residency writers from around the world had the opportunity to connect through spooky and electric readings of works-in-progress and daily horror movie showings. There was a strong emphasis on Indigenous horror, with nearly 50% of participants in the program identifying as such.
The faculty included Shane Hawk, author of the New York Times bestselling Indigenous horror short story collection Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, Bad Cree author Jessica Johns, and The Marrow Thieves author Cherie Dimaline.
Literary Arts programs at Banff Centre were supported by Fondation David R. Graham and Rogers Communications Chair in Literary Journalism Endowment.
There are few spaces that allow “genre” writers to come together regardless of form— fiction, screenplay, poetry, interactive storytelling, and more—and even fewer that invite us so directly to turn horror into a form of resistance. What a dream to be a part of the community we made.de.
Rebecca Salazar Participant, Horror Writing Residency 2025
Opposite: Literary Journalism 2025, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Left: Perrin Ireland, Comics and Graphic Novels residency 2025, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Below: Nirina Ralantoaritsimba, French Literature in Translation Literary Cabaret, photo by Rita Taylor.
The most exciting thing about our programs has to do with how the creation of space and community becomes part of the process of ideation and making. The way artists come together to support one another, and find ways to share and exchange their work, and to stay connected is important. This is the dynamic that we hope for in every program.
Haema Sivanesan Director, Visual Arts
Visual Arts
Visual Arts at Banff Centre welcomed a new director in 2025–26: Haema Sivanesan, our former Director, Leighton Artist Studios and Partnerships. As she started to build her vision for Visual Arts programs, Banff Centre followed through with four iterations of its signature program, Banff Artist in Residence: a nonthematic five-week residency for visual artists across media and genre. Running in fall, winter, and summer, two of the four programs were geared for early career artists. All embraced a structure for independent, self-directed study, with an Open Studios event to interact with the public and showcase the work created at Banff Centre.
In the summer, the Visual Arts program, Kapishkum: Métis Gathering , brought together a cohort of Métis artists from across the country for a period of intensive art-making, learning, and knowledge sharing. This program emphasized Métis art and artists, bringing forward cultural practices and a distinct identity into focus. This was also the only program to occur on campus alongside the G7 Summit International Media Centre operations.
The papermaking facility is filled with rare and timeless equipment, including tools I had never seen or worked with before. Spending time in this precious gem of a studio allowed me to return to the foundational gestures of my practice and renew my love for this medium. I left feeling nourished, supported, and inspired.
Camille Lescarbeau
Participant, Banff Artist in Residence — Fall 2025
The Visual Arts Open Lecture Series continued to facilitate diverse conversations about art, curatorial work, and more with Visual Arts faculty, other program participants, and the public. Notable conversations this year included Riva Symko, Head of Collections and Exhibitions and Curator of Canadian Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, on curatorial methodologies; Tak Pham, curator at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, on his own curatorial practices; and a dual conversation with Tate Modern curators Bilal Akkouche and Alvin Li on curating in context. Andria Hickey, an independent curator from Upstate New York with a varied background in public museums and commercial galleries, gave what Haema called “a no-holds-barred session with artists about research and infusing social and political context into artistic forms.”
Next year, with a full year behind Haema, Visual Arts will continue to foster a developmental environment for artists at any stage of their career, while increasing thematic programming and— by request from participants— lengthening the residencies, especially in the summer, to maximize the rare opportunity to benefit from Banff Centre time, staff, and facilities.
Visual Arts programs at Banff Centre were supported by Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Outstanding Artist Program and Ralph M. Barford Scholarships.
Opposite Top Right: Aja Louden, Banff Artist in Residence Fall 2025 Open Studio.
Opposite Bottom Left: Thea Canlas, Banff Artist in Residence Open Studio.
Below: Haley Basset, Kapishkum: Métis Gathering Open Studios 2025.
Photos by Abigaile Edwards.
Walter Phillips Gallery
At Walter Phillips Gallery, the 2025–26 year demonstrated themes of relations and an undeniable connection to land— both across Canada, and to our location on Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. Through several exhibitions featuring artists with longstanding histories with Banff Centre, we continued our legacy of artistic development while working toward our 50 th anniversary in the summer of 2026.
Elliptical Lineages, which ran from June to September, presented works by artists that engaged the creative practices of a family member or those whom they consider kin. The exhibition raised conversations about how artistic knowledge is transferred across generations or between artists. Artists from within the same family across different generations exhibited alongside one another, while some works were made in direct collaboration between family members. Others used familial practices like quiltmaking, crochet, or beadwork. The opening reception was a family affair: artists of multiple generations joined and witnessed other artists whose families were also present.
Opening in October, SHARON LOCKHART featured the artist’s film installation, WINDWARD and new photographs, Fogo Island Portrait Studio, developed over the course of four summers spent on Newfoundland’s Fogo Island. In December, a public celebration of the exhibition was presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada and the NGC Foundation through their National Engagement initiative and attended by two youth and their families who participated in the filming of WINDWARD, with one family travelling from Fogo Island.
Above: Public reception, Elliptical Lineages, 2025, Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Photo by Rita Taylor.
We worked hard to have programming at the gallery be a home for artists working regionally, as well as nationally and internationally.
Jacqueline Bell
Director,
and Collections
The exhibition Cheryl L’Hirondelle: where the voice touches (((acts, utterances, transmissions for freedom))) co-curated by Tarah Hogue and Jacqueline Bell opened in February 2026. The first career survey of the Cree multidisciplinary artist and singer/songwriter spans multiple media, while underscoring ideas of echolocation as a means of listening to place and responding.
The exhibition also featured the performance-based artwork and event yāhkaskwan mīhkiwap (aka light tipi), where artists and audience members gathered around a tipi generated by beams of light cast into the night sky, made visible through the drifting smoke of burning sage bundles.
The event was co-hosted by performer Anders Hunter and featured music performed by participants and faculty Dale Mac in Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation Residency 2026, which
Cheryl L’Hirondelle was also faculty for, and was co-presented by Walter Phillips Gallery and Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre.
Walter Phillips Gallery also had a major year of acquisitions and donations into Banff Centre’s permanent collection, including the works selected or commissioned by curatorial advisor Becca Taylor for installation in Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti: Îethka Territory House of Respect.
Other works that entered the permanent collection this year are Ice Views, 1992; In Search of the Perfect View, 1992; and Untitled #3 (Glacier Ground Cover), 2007 by Patricia Deadman; PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST, SITTING WITH A KILLER, SURROUNDED BY FRENCH CURVES, 1991 by Shelley Niro; and Silver Hawk III, 1988 by Terence Johnson.
WINDWARD is co-commissioned and co-produced by Shorefast/Fogo Island Arts, The Vega Foundation, and the National Gallery of Canada, with the support of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Walter Phillips Gallery.
Below: Opening reception of Cheryl L’Hirondelle: where the voice touches (((acts, utterances, transmissions for freedom))), Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, 2026. Cheryl L’Hirondelle, nīpawiwin: nanāskomowin ēkwa sohkēyimitowin ohci, Îyâmnathka, with Duane Mark, 2026, courtesy of the artist. Photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Walter Phillips Gallery
Each day offered uninterrupted focus, inspiring views, and a sense of creative possibility. I advanced my script farther in a few weeks than I could have imagined, while feeling supported by the staff and surrounded by natural beauty. It was the best creative experience I’ve ever had.
Karan Archana Participant, Leighton Artist Studios
Above: Heather Christian, Leighton Artist Studios, video still by Banff Centre.
RIght: Leighton Artist Studios, photo by Donald Lee.
Leighton Artist Studios
Nestled in between herds of elk in a secluded forest grove on Banff Centre’s campus, the Leighton Artist Studios continued to be a sanctuary for artists of many disciplines. But it was also a year of refreshing change, with a new leader in Karen Howard as our Senior Manager of Leighton Artist Studios and Independent Residencies, who previously supported Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery.
This year, a total of 104 artists and creatives spent a combined 207 weeks in the 10 standalone studios that comprise the Leighton Artist Studios, including notable artists like Heather Christian, a U.S. composer and recent MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Plains Cree First Nation journalist and writer Paul Seesequasis, and Canadian essayist and public intellectual John Ralston Saul. Cézanne Charles and John Marshall, the Detroit-based artistic duo known for their installation Whithervanes: a neurotic early worrying system, worked on a technical art project for the re-opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
Ry Van Der Hout, recipient of the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography and a residency in the photography-based Crich Studio, lectured a packed room (and busy online webinar) as part of Calgary’s Exposure Photography Festival, discussing their interdisciplinary work with photography, sculpture, and stained glass.
For over 40 years, the Leighton Artist Studios have been a refuge for artists looking for a self-directed residency of focused, isolated time. But not all practices are suitable for this program. Next year, Banff Centre is expanding self-directed residencies to disciplines that require a setting outside of the quiet, contained Leighton Artist Studios: for instance, dancers who require larger rehearsal spaces, and musicians who need to practice at full volume. In addition, the standalone studios will reach new creatives including architects and designers, further diversifying our alumni and broadening the kind of participants who can benefit from Banff Centre’s unique, signature program.
Leighton Artist Studios programs at Banff Centre were supported by Paul D. Fleck Fellowships in the Arts Endowment.
Being part of the legacy of Leighton Artist Studios is incredibly exciting—meeting talented creatives from around the world, learning about their work, and supporting their creative practice is truly inspiring.
Karen Howard
Senior
Manager, Leighton Artist Studios and Independent Residencies
Professional Training
Professional Training programs at Banff Centre offer participants an opportunity to get hands-on experience in technical positions in the arts: the defining features of our Professional Training experiences are low participant-to-faculty ratios, embedded work within an Arts program, and real-world experience and networking opportunities.
For the 2025–26 Interplay program, the Props Technician and Wardrobe Technician programs gave participants the opportunity to design and build pieces for the world premiere chamber opera adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
For 2025–26, the Audio Engineering program participants worked closely with artists in a number of Music programs. The past year saw participants from Australia,
U.S., and Canada work with musicians from around the world for Soundweavings, Jazz & Sonic Arts, and Banff Musicians in Residence
Audio Engineering, part of the Digital Arts department, empowers and equips audio professionals with real-life situations in recording studios and performance spaces, and pairs the experience with the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence and immersive audio. Theresa Leonard, former longtime Director of Audio at Banff Centre, returned as Lead Faculty for these residencies, along with Grammy Award-winning faculty Richard King (McGill University), Todd Whitelock (Jazz at Lincoln Center), and Mark Willsher (Pin3hot LTD).
Flexibility is our biggest strength in audio. We have to be flexible and try to make ideas happen alongside the recordings and booked sessions. Residencies become as rich as possible by being able to turn on a dime.
Theresa Leonard Faculty, Audio Engineering
Audio Engineering is designed to be flexible, offering opportunities for collaboration between engineers and artists in booked sessions and concert recordings. In some instances, participants and musicians simmered on an idea and remained in the studio until 3 a.m., bringing it to life. Others were able to experiment with video production and audio with faculty guidance.
In addition to bringing together participants from diverse educational and professional backgrounds from all around the world, Audio Engineering is proud to say it has achieved gender parity in its cohort.
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity offers incredible global connections, exceptional studio spaces and recording gear, and a plethora of groundbreaking musicians to record. This bolstered my personal learning experience and gave me extremely valuable connections across the world.
Tanner Reid Participant, Audio Engineer, Jazz & Sonic Arts 2025
With the addition of Christopher Lane as Director, Digital Arts on the team, Professional Training programs will expand into other areas of the technical arts in the coming years.
Opposite Top (left to right): Elie Goyer, Rebekka Homburg, and Ben Ewing, Audio Engineering, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite Bottom: Charlotte Tang, Banff Musicians in Residence rehearsal, photo by Rita Taylor.
Below (left to right): Props Technician, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Mountain Culture
Mountain Culture at Banff Centre brings together filmmakers, writers, and mountaineering aficionados for exceptional, diverse, and boundary-pushing storytelling.
This year, we celebrated a milestone with the department’s cornerstone event: the 50 th anniversary of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
Marquee events for the festival included BanffPitch, a brandnew film pitching competition for a $25,000 prize, an intensive Filmmakers Summit, Mountain Culture Director Joanna Croston’s book launch for Mountaineering Women: Climbing Through History, and a special gathering of leading climate speakers with the Fire and Ice Symposium: The Stories We Tell Held in partnership with the United
Nations’ International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, the Fire and Ice Symposium featured scientists, filmmakers, authors, artists, and photographers, including adventurer Børge Ousland and photographer James Balog, discussing the impact of wildfires and melting glaciers as well as the resilient storytellers advocating for change. Bringing science to a traditionally artistic event provided a fresh, inspiring conversation about the hope and positivity that storytelling has on today’s most important issues.
This year, the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival received an incredible 570 film submissions from 45 countries. Eighty-seven of those films from 14 countries made it to the festival, but the sheer volume of submissions
speaks to a vibrant community looking to tell their diverse stories. The film Iron Winter, by Australian director Kasimir Burgess, about two men in the harsh Mongolian winter, took home the Grand Prize. Best Day Ever, following adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi, was a fan favourite, winning the Audience Choice Award and Best Film: Mountain Sports.
Crowd at Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival 50th anniversary, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite: Best Day Ever, from the 2025 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, photo by Ben Knight.
There is a Banff Centre phenomenon we call Banff Magic. People meet each other here, unexpectedly, and some great collaboration comes out of it. That happens all the time at the Festival: musicians in one program meet a filmmaker in another, and all of a sudden they’re writing the score for the next film.
Joanna Croston Director, Mountain Culture and Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
The 50th anniversary festival broke records with over 21,000 attendees. Afterwards, the 2025–26 World Tour kicked off, bringing Festival highlights to 45 countries across the globe. First-time screenings were available in São Paulo, Brazil, Minamiuonuma City, Japan, Zlin, Czechia, and Gällivare, Sweden, north of the Arctic Circle.
Once again, the Adventure Filmmakers Workshop and the Mountain Writers Intensive programs ran concurrently with the festival, offering invaluable
real-world networking opportunities alongside expert faculty guidance and hands-on practice. Next year, Mountain Culture will launch a series of new programs promoting female-identifying filmmakers with Moonlighter Film Camps. Born of the need to tell diverse adventure and mountain stories, this brandnew series is a collaboration with the Well Travelled Collective, a female-led production company that offers mountain filmmaking for women taught by women.
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and World Tour are incredibly fortunate to have a large contingent of sponsors who help these events operate at such a high caliber.
Rab, a U.K.-based premier outdoor soft goods manufacturer, has been supporting the Festival in Banff—and its proceeding Canadian and U.S. legs of the World Tour—as a Presenting Sponsor since 2018. While the generous contributions of our sponsors help bring inspiring stories to millions around the world and unite a global community of outdoor enthusiasts, it’s Rab’s engagement that makes them truly shine as a partner.
The brand has continuously found ways to leverage access to our audiences and enhance their on-site experiences: from “Climbing with the Pros” workshops, to the Rab Stage which hosts free talks and panels, to custom festival artwork and merchandise, to a mobile presence that activates the World Tour on the go.
Similar to the Festival and Tour’s drive to promote humanpowered adventure sports in an environmentally conscious manner, Rab’s pursuit of lowered environmental impact alongside their core purpose of making high-end mountain gear makes them the perfect brand to have as a Presenting Sponsor.
For Rab, supporting the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival has been far more than a partnership—it feels deeply meaningful and authentic. Sharing these moments with fellow mountain enthusiasts, who truly understand the joy and healing that wild places offer, has been a privilege. It’s an experience we value greatly, and it continues to inspire us each day.
Annalee Loomer
U.S. Marketing Manager, Rab
Year-at-a-Glance
2025 – 2026
April 2025
Elliptical Lineages
Indigenous Haute Couture: Creation & Embellishments 2025
Natural Drawing Basics # 1
Bow Valley Edition
Horror Writing Residency
Reel Time Series:
Universal Language
Literary Cabarets: Horror Writing
The Possibilities Retreat: A Convening of Human Computer Interaction and Live Performance
May 2025
Soundweavings Concerts
Inua Ellams: Search Party
Jeremy Dutcher: Motewolonuwok
Inherent Right to Indigenous Governance
Reel Time Series: In the Summers
Thought Leaders GatheringYouth Leadership
Literary Journalism Residency
June 2025
Rose National Arts Centre Creative Residency
The Lost Things Creative Residency and Preview
Community Film Screening: The Man Who Skied Down Everest
Playwrights Lab
Soundweavings Audio Engineer
Calling Our Spirits Home: Indigenous Women in Leadership
Soundweavings
Open Studios: Indigenous Haute Couture: Creation & Embellishments 2025
July 2025
Open Studios: Kapishkum: Métis Gathering
Exhibition Tour: Elliptical Lineages
Interplay Chamber Concerts
Interplay Opera Pubs
Timothonius
Kenna Burima
Lake BabineNegotiation Skills Training
AMP Sessions: The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s
Decolonizing the Narrative: Nic Latulippe and Soloman Chiniquay
Literary Cabarets: Literary Journalism
Natural Drawing Beyond # 1
Bow Valley Edition
Art of Piano
Art of Piano Concerts & Student Showcases
Wise Practices in Indigenous Leadership
National Indigenous History Month
Indigenous Evaluation Frameworks
Kapishkum: Métis Gathering
Leela Gilday Live
G7 Summit International
Media Centre
Visual Arts Open Lecture Series: Jason Baerg
Nawash - Negotiation Skills Training
Interplay - Opera & Chamber Music
Interplay - Props Technician
Interplay - Wardrobe Technician
Staff & Public Open Houses: Îethka Mâkochî Ahogi Chi Pa Bi Ti
Ghostkeeper
Staff Open Mic Night
Kapishkum: Métis Gathering Panel Discussion
Elliptical Lineages Artist Discussion
Spencer Britten’s Who am I?
Karaoke Night
Decolonizing the Narrative: Leah Marie Dorion
Interplay Chamber Faculty & Participant Concerts
Banff Centre Celebrates
August 2025
Jazz & Sonic Arts Jam Sessions
Midnight Channel
Jazz & Sonic Arts Faculty Concerts
André Wickenheiser Quintet
Sarah Slean
Visual Arts Open Lecture Series: Tak Pham
Jazz & Sonic Arts
Participant Concerts
September 2025
Aknumusti ǂis (Natural Law): Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons
Charlotte Graf Piano Project
Outdoor Film Screenings
Natural Drawing Basics # 2
Calling Our Spirits Home: Indigenous Women in Leadership
Science Fiction Residency
Literary Cabarets: Science Fiction
Producer Intensive
Stage Management Intensive
Banff (The Beautiful) Celebrates Oscar Peterson at 100
John Alcorn’s Diva Cabaret
Jazz & Sonic Arts
Jazz & Sonic Arts Audio Engineers
Early Career Banff Artist in Residence - Summer 2025
The Handmaid’s Tale Chamber Opera
AMP Sessions: Zebra
Interplay Chamber Music and Opera Workshops
DJ Matty Rage
Visual Arts Open Lecture Series: Jerry Ropson
DJ Rob Faust
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Riva Symko
AMP Sessions: Ellen Braun
National Arts Centre: New Musicals Workshops
Preparing for a Life in Performance
Summer Writers Residency
15th Banff International String Quartet Competition
Open Studios: Early Career BAiR, Summer 2025
Exhibition Tour: Elliptical Lineages
Literary Cabarets: Summer Writers
Aszure Barton:
Creative Residency and Work-InProgress Showing
Truth and Reconciliation Through Right Relations
New Play Actor Training
Decolonizing the Narrative: Waubgeshig Rice
John Ralston Saul Creative Residency
Negotiation Skills Training
The Siminovitch PrizeDesign Residency
Outdoor Film Screenings
Literary Cabarets: Horror Writing Ghostkeeper
Photos top to bottom: Jessica Rose and Cassandra Bourchier, Kokhom’s Babushka , photo by Abigaile Edwards; Drezus, Drezus Live featuring JayMak & Guests, photo by Abigaile Edwards; Naomi Watkins, Banff Artist in Residence –Summer 2025 Open Studio, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
October 2025
Open Studios: Aknumusti ǂis (Natural Law): Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons
UAlberta & Banff Centre Partnership Event
Banff Pride: Chalet 54
Project Management for Indigenous Organizations
Comics and Graphic Novels Residency
Literary Cabarets:
Comics and Graphic Novels
Alvvays Creative Residency
Kohkom’s Babushka
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Dreaming Forward:
Exploring Pathways to Child Welfare Jurisdiction
SHARON LOCKHART
Natural Drawing Beyond # 2
Youth Leadership -
Thought Leaders Gathering
Mountain Writers Intensive
Adventure Filmmakers Workshop
What Universities Owe Democracy in Increasingly Polarized Times
November 2025
Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival
Banff Artist in Residence - Fall 2025
Visual Arts Open Lecture Series: Brandee Caoba
Attic Projects Creative Residency
Mountain Writers Intensive Reading Night
Indigenous Business and Economic Development
Indigenous Fashion Runway Residency
Reel Time Series: DJ Ahmet
December 2025
The Debaters Live On Tour: 20 th Anniversary Holiday Special Open Studios: Fall BAiR 2025
Indigenous Fashion Runway Event
Youth Leadership Design Session
Reel Time Series: Once Upon My Mother
Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award 2025
Decolonizing the Narrative: Georgina Lightning
Aysanabee: The Way We’re Born Tour
The Barra MacNeils: An East Coast Christmas 25th Anniversary Tour
Wise Practices in Indigenous Leadership
Early Career Writers of Young Adult and Children’s Books Residency
Literary Cabarets: Early Career Writers of YA and Children’s Books
Visual Arts Open Lecture Series: Bilal Akkouche and Alvin Lee
Related World Strategic Planning
January 2026
Banff Musicians in Residence
Audio Engineer
Natural Drawing Basics # 3 -
Bow Valley Edition
Reflecting Forward with Wise Practices
Deep Winter Writers Residency
Reel Time Series: Sentimental Value
Banff Musicians in Residence
Winter Banff Artist in Residency 2026
Literary Cabarets: Deep Winter Writers
Third Coast Percussion: Time Pieces: The New Classical
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Andria Hickey
SnowDays Festival Weekend of Wonder Film Screenings
February 2026
Joni 1971 Creative Residency
Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation Residency
Youth Leadership Design Sessions
Reel Time Series: It was Just an Accident
Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography Artist Lecture
Leading Teams: Governance for Indigenous Councils and Boards
Contemporary French Writing in Translation Residency
Open Studios: Winter BAiR
Lisa Lambe: Love Songs and Long Roads
March 2026
Indigenous Leadership Faculty Gathering
Reel Time: No Other Choice
Tanya Tagaq: Split Tooth: Saputjiji
Creative Residency and Work-In-Progress Showing
Banff Holiday Community Concert
Community Film Screening: Echo of Turns, Le Moulin des ArtistesA Home for Free Spirits, Run Again
Laila Biali Creative Residency
In addition to these timely events, several projects run all year long at Banff Centre.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Online Mountain Films
Leighton Artist Studios
Dreaming Forward: Exploring Pathways to Child Welfare Jurisdiction
Avalanche Awareness Night
Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography Residency
Decolonizing the Narrative: Margo Kane
Open Studios: Banff Musicians in Residence
Banff Musicians in Residence Faculty Concerts
PLAY DEAD by People Watching Banff Musicians in Residence Participant Concerts
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Jordan Bennett
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Amy Malbeuf
Cheryl L’Hirondelle: where the voice touches (((acts, utterances, transmissions for freedom)))
Cheryl L’Hirondelle: yāhkaskwan mīhkiwap (aka light tipi)
Dancers Intensive 2026
Literary Cabarets: Contemporary French Writing in Translation
Natural Drawing Beyond # 3Bow Valley Edition
Truth, Reconciliation & Leadership: Building Culturally Responsive Organizations
Digital Constellations Production & Post-Production Residency 2026
Toga da wôhnagabi: Music Creation Residency Participant Concerts
Early Career Banff Artist in Residence 2026
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Nour Bishouty
Governance & Financial Resilience: Executive Tools for a Changing Sector
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Jacob Korczynski
Drezus featuring JayMak and Guests
National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture
Spring Writers Residency
July Talk: Touch X Tour
Visual Arts Open Lecture: Isabelle Sully
Literary Cabarets: Spring Writers
Community Film Screening: Iron Winter
Negotiation Skills Training
Decolonizing the Narrative: Drew Hayden Taylor
Drezus feature JayMak and guests
Early Career Banff Artist in Residence
Kohkom’s Babushka
Banff International String Quartet Competition
The triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) celebrated its 15th year with an abundance of joy, soldout shows, and a diverse group of competitors hailing from 14 different countries. Over five days and five rounds of competition, Banff Centre became a hub for young hopefuls, competition alumni, established mentors, and a supportive, passionate fanbase. All groups could be seen mingling and mixing together on warm Banff evenings on the Maclab Bistro patio, or taking in a performance on the temporary Maclab Bistro stage, decorated in the style of the Esterházy Palace.
After four very close rounds of competition, three finalists were announced for the final round, where each quartet was asked to curate a recital program of their choosing: Arete Quartet, based in Seoul, South Korea; Quartet KAIRI, based in Salzburg, Austria; and Poiesis Quartet , based in Cincinnati, U.S. Ultimately, Poiesis Quartet—Sarah Ying Ma on violin, Max Ball on violin, Jasper de Boor on viola, and Drew Dansby on cello—were announced as the winners, impressing both audience and judges with their emphasis on living composers of queer or BIPOC identity. Since their win, the Poiesis Quartet went on to win the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and were named one of the “Best Classical Performances of 2025” by The New York Times
With the incredible career resources generously provided by BISQC, we are more prepared than ever before to continue on our path of creating change-making and impactful art. We are filled with such sincere hope and imagination for the future of chamber music.
Poiesis Quartet
Banff International String Quartet Competition 2025 First Place Laureates
The competition is important to the audience but for performers, one of the more memorable experiences happens before anyone steps onstage. As with each competition, after the musicians arrived from all over the world, they spent time with BISQC Director Barry Shiffman and this year’s mentor-inresidence, Mark Steinberg of the Brentano String Quartet. This orientation conversation gathered the musicians in the spirit of colleagues, not competitors, emphasizing that everyone sees who they’ll be travelling alongside throughout their career. It’s this artistic support system that BISQC staff have honed and developed into something of a reputational gold standard throughout the competition’s existence.
As part of the competition’s anniversary celebration, BISQC hosted a nod to chamber music’s past with a Viennese Waltz night. The BISQC team wanted its dedicated audience to go back in time and experience what it was like to attend an evening of waltzes at the Esterházy Foundation, as Prince Nikolaus Esterházy hosted composers and musicians–including Joseph Haydn, the father of the string quartet. BISQC 2022 winners Isidore String Quartet performed alongside Barry Shiffman and Viennese waltzes. Attendees enjoyed traditional period dress, Viennese desserts, and Austrian wine with this onenight-only add-on to make BISQC 2025 a week to remember.
The success of BISQC is tied to community. To be immersed in the week of BISQC is to be enveloped in an environment of enthusiasm and excitement for music, friends, and place. There is really nothing like it that I have seen elsewhere.
Barry Shiffman
Director, Banff International String Quartet Competition
Opposite: Sarah Ying Ma (violin), Jasper de Boor (viola), Poiesis Quartet.
Above: Sarah Ying Ma (violin), Max Ball (violin), Drew Dansby (cello), Jasper de Boor (viola), Poiesis Quartet.
Photos by Rita Taylor.
The 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition was supported by Aurora Fund for the Advancement of String Quartet Music, Azrieli Foundation, Christine and David Anderson, Christopher Head, Ernie and Sandra Green, Freeze Family Career Development Program Fund, BISQC and an Anonymous supporter.
David and Christine Anderson
Longtime supporters of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, David and Christine Anderson understand the importance of recognizing outstanding musical achievement, regardless of competition results. As a result, they award each competing quartet that does not advance to the Finals Round with a $5,000 prize. In 2025, they added an additional opportunity for one quartet to experience a 10-day residency in the Caribbean archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In February 2026, Viatores Quartet mentored and connected with local players and students to fulfill BISQC’s mission to expand the impact of string quartets beyond traditional concert halls, emphasizing music’s role in social and cultural development. Banff Centre sincerely thanks David and Christine for their generosity.
Supporting Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has been one of the most meaningful parts of my life. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of contributing in many ways— from supporting musicians in residencies to establishing an endowment in 2016 in honour of a dear friend.
What continues to move me most is the Centre’s unwavering commitment to artists at every stage of their journey. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, where the level of artistry is truly exceptional.
David Anderson Donor, Banff International String Quartet Competition
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
A tradition since 1950, the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival presented over 70 events across departments this year with talks, workshops, readings, performances, exhibitions, and more by some of Canada’s and the world’s extraordinary artists.
From May 1 to September 5, 2025, audiences came to Banff Centre to experience a diverse mix of performances and events.
Highlights from this year’s festival included Nigerian playwright and poet Inua Ellams’ SEARCH PARTY at the Margaret Greenham Theatre and Wolastoqiyik performer Jeremy Dutcher ’s performance of his sophomore record MOTEWOLONUWOK
at the Jenny Belzberg Theatre. These performances from both Inua and Jeremy occurred while they were program faculty (Inua with The Playwrights Lab, and Jeremy with Soundweavings).
Free outdoor music returned to the Shaw Amphitheatre with AMP Sessions, featuring summertime performances from an all-Bow Valley lineup including the raucous country band The Ramblin’ Hey Ho Ha’s, a funky saxophone offering by Zebra, and heartfelt stories from Canmore indiefolk musician Ellen Braun.
This year, Banff Centre opened CLVB ’33, an intimate performance space transformed from an underutilized studio space into a venue fit for cabarets, bands, DJ sets, karaoke and open mic nights, Literary Cabarets, and more. Filling a need for a post-show hangout space that caters to conversation and art simultaneously, the name CLVB ’33 was chosen to mark the old, beloved Club space at Banff Centre, as well as a nod to the year the Centre was founded, 1933.
Notable CLVB ’33 events included Calgary-based experimental pop band Ghostkeeper, neo-soul performer Timothonius, acclaimed tenor Spencer Britten, DJ Faust for disco-powered sets, and songwriter and pianist Kenna Burima.
Opposite Top (left to right): Viatores Quartet: Miguel Erlich, Umut Sağlam, Louisa Staples, and Johannes Brzoska. Opposite Bottom (left to right): Christine Anderson, Umut Sağlam, Johannes Brzoska, Miguel Erlich, David Anderson, and Louisa Staples. Photos courtesy of Johannes Brzoska. Above: Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Outdoor Screening, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Banff Centre Presents
Banff Centre’s presenting arm, Banff Centre Presents, has the pivotal role of bringing exciting, noteworthy performances to the Bow Valley to benefit local audiences and enhance the experience of participants and conference guests. Audience feedback this year celebrated the comfort of the Jenny Belzberg Theatre, reasonable ticket prices, and the joy that in-demand artists are travelling to a less frequently served part of Canada.
In March 2026, Canadian indie rock band July Talk arrived at Banff Centre for the Touch X Tour, celebrating the tenth anniversary of their breakout album. It was a whirlwind appearance for Alberta-born co-lead vocalist Peter Dreimanis, who, the night before, was in Los Angeles at the Academy Awards celebrating his role in the award-winning, history-making film Sinners.
With Aysanabee, another Canadian indie music star who came to Banff Centre this year, it feels like just the beginning of a long and storied career. With his The Way We’re Born Tour, the Oji-Cree artist filled the Jenny Belzberg Theatre with eager Bow Valley fans and indie, soul, and electronic soundscapes in November 2025, months before winning his third and fourth JUNO Awards for his second album Edge Of The Earth.
It was a very East Coast Christmas this year, celebrating the 25 th anniversary of The Barra MacNeils’ signature Christmas concert. In addition, The Debaters and host Steve Patterson marked 20 years with a stop at Banff Centre.
World-renowned illusionist Scott Silven and director Graham McLaren presented a preview of the mind-bending The Lost Things, created during a previous Banff Centre residency and further developed this year. Both collaborators were inspired by the wooded surroundings of Banff Centre campus, and a memory from Scott’s childhood that took place in a similar landscape. After three performances on the Jenny Belzberg Theatre stage, The Lost Things premiered in the summer of 2025 at the Sydney Opera House.
Additional artists that appeared at Banff Centre in 2025–26 include Sarah Slean, Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Paramirabo, Plains Cree rapper Drezus, Irish folk singer Lisa Lambe, and the jaw-dropping Montreal-based contemporary circus company, People Watching, with their show PLAY DEAD. It was a rare chance to see People Watching’s powerful performers and inventive mix of acrobatics, dance, and physical theatre and the piece received rave reviews and a standing ovation from audience members.
A lovely venue in beautiful surroundings, amazing performers, great price, and great restaurants with delicious food on site, not to mention the wildlife and scenery that can’t be beat.
Audience Member
Opposite: Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein, July Talk.
Above: Scott Silven, The Lost Things
Photos by Abigaile Edwards.
Creative Residencies
2025–26 highlighted Banff Centre’s continued evolution to provide support and guidance to artists at any stage of their career, whether building early core skills, fine-tuning a project in development, or mastering new skills and techniques after years of practice. Creative Residencies serve an important role in our post-secondary structure, giving artists time and resources for the purpose of researching and developing new artistic works.
Each residency is one-of-a-kind: uniquely shaped around the artist’s vision, stage of development, and desired outcomes. Artists may arrive at the early stages of a project, still forming their ideas or concepts. Others may be in the middle of studio work. Some use this time to put the final touches on technical elements and production, or further deepen work on a project that has already premiered.
Interdisciplinary artist, designer, and New York City bon vivant Machine Dazzle completed his first stay as Banff Centre’s Artist in Residence. Machine will return to campus in the lead-up to Banff Centre’s 100th anniversary in 2033. Undertaking archival research, design, and idea exploration
this year, Machine’s work will contribute to documenting the Banff Centre story, creating new works for exhibition, and developing ideas for potential legacy projects.
Several residencies focused on the creation of new projects not ready for public presentation, including: Attic Projects’ The Prometheus Project with choreographer Luke Murphy; singer Lisa Lambe and director Graham McLaren’s Joni 1971 about the creation of Joni Mitchell’s seminal album Blue; a collective of musicals in development with the National Arts Centre; and Tomson Highway ’s musical Rose with the National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre. Originally written in 1992 by one of Canada’s most prominent Indigenous creators, Rose had never received a professional production, because of its all-Indigenous cast. This year, following this workshop, Rose received its professional world premiere in Ottawa.
Canadian pop icons Alvvays used a 10-day residency to create music for their next album, while jazz singer pianist Laila Biali returned to the site where she wrote her GRAMMY Awardnominated album Wintersongs weeks before attending the awards gala in Los Angeles.
Others led to productions, offering artists a chance to receive a public presentation and feedback while a new work is developed, and local audiences the chance to see worldclass names in their backyard.
Alberta-born choreographer Aszure Barton returned to Banff Centre in September 2025 to further develop A a | a B : B E N D in collaboration with composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. Following the residency, this touring version of A a | a B: E N D premiered in Toronto.
Creative residencies are a demonstration of what Banff Centre does best— creating the conditions for artists to take risks, follow their instincts, and deepen their artistic practice on their own terms.
Josephine Ridge,
Executive Director, Arts
In December 2025, Inuk singer and author Tanya Tagaq developed Split Tooth: Saputjiji, inspired by her book of the same name, with director Kaneza Schaal, Tagaq’s band, and an ensemble of four throat singers. Split Tooth premiered at Vancouver’s PuSh Festival this year, and was subsequently programmed in Amsterdam’s Holland Festival later in 2026.
Both performances of A a | a B : B E N D and Split Tooth: Saputjiji featured an open rehearsal and onstage talkback with the audience.
Left: Tomson Highway, National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre Rose residency. Opposite: Wise Practices in Arts Leadership.
Photos by Rita Taylor.
Indigenous Leadership
I have so much gratitude for the opportunity, for the Elders who guided us in a Good Way, for the Nation who hosted us so generously, for the friends I made and people trying to better themselves on this personal and national journey of Reconciliation, and for the mountains who held us and shared her medicine. I took so much back with me, and to sum my experience up in a word: transformative. I will never be the same.
Lauren Golosky Participant, Truth and Reconciliation Through
Right Relations - Fall 2025
A pivotal area of education at Banff Centre, Indigenous Leadership had another important year of working closely with faculty and Knowledge Keepers to offer courses designed for the current needs of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. Our 2025–26 programming focused on nation-building and leading organizations with 15 regular programs, including Inherent Right to Indigenous Governance, Wise Practices in Indigenous Leadership, and Dreaming Forward: Exploring Pathways to Child Welfare Jurisdiction, with nearly 450 participants
One of the greatest ways we welcome and receive our participants, faculty, and Elders is by making sure everything is grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
Simon Ross Director, Indigenous Leadership
This year also re-introduced custom programming for specific groups who approached Banff Centre. A Negotiation Skills training program was offered for two different groups, one who visited Banff Centre for training and one which was hosted in Ontario. Workshops taught federal, provincial, or local negotiations to uphold treaty rights, improve child and family services, or help develop new relationships regarding energy extraction.
In 2026–27, Indigenous Leadership is excited about piloting a new youth leadership program. This program was designed and created by youth for youth along with the guidance of Elders and Knowledge Keepers through thought leader gatherings in May and October 2025. Through ceremony, this program received the name Miistáki Iinníí’naa (Blackfoot) - Mountain Buffalo Warrior, intended for youth leaders between the ages of 18 and 30.
Opposite Top: Reflecting Forward with Wise Practices outdoor session, photo by Rita
Opposite Bottom: Shannon Stratton and Kyle O’Byrne, Reflecting Forward Through Wise Practices collage workshop, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
A standout moment from the 2025–26 year included a small group of women in leadership from the Northwest Territories who completed seven program requirements to receive the Certificate of Excellence in Indigenous Leadership, Governance, and Management in less than two years.
Indigenous Leadership programs at Banff Centre are supported by Cenovus Energy, Future Generations Foundation, Government of Alberta through Alberta Advanced Education for the Peter Lougheed Leadership Initiative, Shell Canada Limited, and Suncor Energy Foundation.
Below: Wise Practices in Arts Leadership parfleche workshop, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Taylor.
Cultural Leadership
Surrounded by the majesty of the mountains, I learned from brilliant faculty and connected with fellow arts administrators who deeply understand the unique challenges and opportunities of leading in the arts sector. I left feeling energized and inspired— full of new knowledge, renewed hope for the future, a deeper connection to nature, and meaningful relationships that I hope will last a lifetime!
Steff Roslez Participant, Governance and Financial Resilience: Executive Tools
for a Changing Sector
Leadership in the arts and culture sector has significantly changed since the COVID-19 pandemic: adaptability, audience engagement, workforce practices, and valuesdriven decision-making are required more than ever. Responding to those changing needs, priorities, and skills, a reenvisioned Cultural Leadership department at Banff Centre launched this year.
Under the direction of Geneviève Cimon, who joined the department in June 2025, Cultural Leadership introduced a model drawing on Banff Centre’s Indigenous Leadership programs to reach more cultural leaders and respond to the sector’s evolving needs. Grounded in the Seven Wise Practices and Right Relations, the model offers six- day courses led by internationally regarded faculty, building to the Banff Centre Certificate of Distinction in Cultural Leadership. The first three programs in this new model launched in the winter of 2026: Reflecting Forward with Wise Practices; Truth, Reconciliation & Leadership: Building Culturally Responsive Organizations; and Governance & Financial Resilience: Executive Tools for a Changing Sector
Prior programming was led by a best practice approach— traditionally Western, linear, and forward-looking. Through consultation and discussion, Cimon evolved the programming to include land-based practices and a holistic, contextual view of past, present, and future goals. This included facilitating sessions and modules with participants to react to the issues in their arts and cultural roles in a geographic context (for example, rural or urban needs).
Cultural Leadership programs at Banff Centre are supported by Eldon and Anne Foote Fund for Cultural and Environmental Leaders, the Government of Alberta through Alberta Advanced Education for the Peter Lougheed Leadership Initiative, and Nonprofit Leadership Scholarship Endowment.
It is a privilege to witness the wisdom emanating from our participants.
Geneviève Cimon Director, Cultural Leadership
Convening and Summits
The first year of Convening and Summits proved to be an insightful and exemplary addition to Banff Centre’s Leadership programming, bringing leaders, academics, artists, and policymakers to Banff to discuss and take action on some of the world’s most pressing needs in arts, education, government, and community engagement. In turn, these hosted conversations in the mountains are used to build and inform future Banff Centre programs.
In April 2025, Convening and Summits partnered with the University of Calgary for The Possibilities Retreat to study human-computer interaction and live performance. The research study united the university’s performing arts and computer science departments to understand the intersection of these worlds from new perspectives, including Indigenous arts, digital film and media, and theatre arts.
The summer’s convening, Preparing for a Life and Performance, focused
on the life of a performing artist. Organized by Convening and Summits alongside Executive Director, Arts, Josephine Ridge and Director, Music, Michael Falk, this conversation brought together a dozen music experts to lead important discussions on issues such as managing mental health, dealing with performance anxiety, hiring agents, and more. This convening helped inform program staff on the types of life skills training that could be integrated into Arts programs.
In October, the multi-day gathering, What Universities Owe Democracy in Increasingly Polarized Times, was a powerhouse event, hosting former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, writer John Ralston Saul, and President of the University of Alberta Bill Flanagan. This byinvitation event included individuals from across the political spectrum who discussed how university campuses should exemplify the democratic principles of pluralism, discourse, and respect.
Finally, in March 2026, Banff Centre co-hosted the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture with the Government of Canada, a three-day convening of over 300 guests to discuss how to build, empower, and protect the relationship between Canada’s cultural sector and recent artificial intelligence technologies. The summit culminated in a fireside chat and national press conference with the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture.
Convening and Summits at Banff Centre are supported by the Government of Alberta through Alberta Advanced Education for the Peter Lougheed Leadership Initiative.
Opposite Top: Stephen Harper, What Universities Owe Democracy in Increasingly
Opposite Middle: Ministers Marc Miller and Evan Solomon, National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite Bottom: Rachel Notley, What Universities Owe Democracy in Increasingly Polarized Times, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Above: Chris Lorway and speakers at the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, photo by Rita Taylor.
Polarized Times, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
I’ve seen a commonality in the Convening and Summits interactions: from a small group of musicians bonding and talking about familiar issues to computer scientists and performance artists, people want to engage in a space they feel safe in. It’s really remarkable to watch the magic of human connections throughout the year, leading to people wanting to talk more and more.
Simon Marsden Director, Convening and Summits
Hospitality & Mission-Aligned Conferences
Each year, Banff Centre brings the world to Alberta. That act of hosting comes in no small part from our hospitality teams who operate the restaurants that nourish us, the hotels that comfort us, and the exercise facilities that keep our bodies healthy while our minds go to work.
That hospitable environment played an integral role in welcoming thousands of conference attendees to campus, many as part of our commitment to host gatherings that promote Indigenous values, international topics, creative problem-solving, and artistic experimentation.
Examples of the mission-aligned conferences that took place at Banff Centre this year include:
Indigenous Clean Energy Meeting
April 24–25, 2025
For this intimate gathering, Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) convened with the purpose of empowering Indigenous communities to be clean energy change agents.
Take Me Outside Learning Conference 2025
May 4–13, 2025
Nearly 400 educators, environmental advocates, and community leaders gathered at Banff Centre for the Take Me Outside Learning Conference to discuss the theme “Place and Pedagogy: Where Learning Happens.”
National Model United Nations | Canada
November 18–December 2, 2025
Hundreds of post-secondary students arrived at Banff Centre with the National Model United Nations Canada to discuss international diplomacy and apply their knowledge to realworld, complex global issues.
Piikani Youth Conference
March 18–21, 2026
Piikani Nation Child & Family Services gathered care workers and social service professionals to discuss the care, protection, and empowerment of Piikani youth in Alberta, reflecting on their work from the past year and prioritizing opportunities to build strong families and communities.
Photo by Kari Medig.
Thank You Donors
The 2025–26 season once again demonstrated our gratitude toward our supportive and generous community of donors.
Our annual fundraiser, Banff Centre Celebrates, returned for the second summer to support artist scholarships.
In 2025, Banff Centre Celebrates marked Banff Centre’s legacy of jazz training and a milestone from the founder of our Jazz program: Oscar Peterson. In the concert Banff (The Beautiful) Celebrates Oscar Peterson at 100, an all-star lineup of performers, including pianists Robi Botos and Taurey Butler, drummer Mark McLean, and vocalist Caity Gyorgy paid tribute to the jazz legend in a signature event celebrating his 100th birthday. Working directly with Oscar’s daughter, Céline Peterson, the event marked the connection between one of Canada’s greatest musicians, the powerhouse performances of these professional marvels, and the work we do every day in our Music programs. Attendees of Banff Centre Celebrates were immersed in Banff Centre’s music training: past, present, and future.
Banff Centre Celebrates attendees also received the full Banff Centre experience with a behind-thescenes reception at our Visual Arts printmaking, ceramics, and woodshop facilities—areas not typically open to donors since the COVID-19 pandemic. There, guests got to engage directly with our staff to learn about their stories, craft, and impact on participants. And after the show, CLVB ’33 and John Alcorn’s Diva Cabaret showed another side to jazz music (and Banff Centre): one that’s pure energy, expression, and fun. Following the after-party, guests remarked on the pride they felt around supporting this organization’s reputation and, especially, what’s to come. We’d like to give special thanks to the event’s Lead Sponsor Parkland Corporation.
Banff Centre Celebrates will return in June 2026 with a performance by Pink Martini All-Stars.
In the fall, when the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrated its 50 th anniversary, the 50K for 50 Years campaign aimed to raise $50,000 to mark the occasion. With only the 9 days of the festival in market, Banff Centre’s first ever mountain culture-focused fundraising campaign was a success! The 50K for 50 Years campaign saw over 800 contest entries to win a festival swag bag, established Front Row Insurance as a matching donor, and debuted a new tap-todonate system. What’s even more incredible is that every festival alumnus who visited the campaign table donated, paying it forward so future artists can benefit from the support they once received.
In addition to these event-based campaigns, we continued to raise important funds year-round to support our annual operations and endowment to provide vital scholarships to Arts and Leadership participants. Banff Centre is so grateful to these and all our donors who help make our work possible.
Opposite Top: Taurey Butler, Robi Botos, Jocelyn Gould, Caity Gyorgy, RINA, Brandi Disterheft, and Mark McLean, Banff (The Beautiful) Celebrates Oscar Peterson at 100, photo by Rita Taylor.
Opposite Bottom Left (left to right): Brinna Brinkerhoff and Jeff Neufeld, Banff Centre Celebrates, photo by Abigaile Edwards.
Opposite Bottom Right (left to right): Duane Hertzer, Patricia Phillips, Mary Jane Espey, Tanya Collins, and Dave Collins, Banff Centre Celebrates, photo by Rita Taylor.
Above: Sasha Galitzki, Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, photo by Rita Taylor.
Banff Centre Governance
Banff Centre Leadership Group
Chris Lorway
President and CEO
Valerie Kapay
Vice President, Talent and Culture
Kyla Conner
General Counsel and External Relations
Derek Fast
Executive Director,
Marketing and Communications
Jennifer Lamb
Interim Executive Director, Development
Aliza Leblanc
Chief Financial Officer
Josephine Ridge
Executive Director, Arts
Mark Wold
Executive Director, Leadership
Banff Centre Board of Governors
Paul Baay (Chair)
Brinna Brinkerhoff
Ron Hallman
Melanie Kwong
Chris Lorway (ex officio)
Françoise E. Lyon
Lori Paine
Pinder Sandhu
Naomi Schmold
Santee Smith
Myron Tétreault
In 2025–26, Banff Centre was thrilled to have Françoise E. Lyon, Santee Smith, and Melanie Kwong join the Board of Governors.
Françoise E. Lyon (appointed May 24, 2025) has a career spanning senior executive roles in Canada’s investment and wealth management sectors, including leadership roles on numerous boards and a long history of arts sector expertise.
Santee Smith Tekaronhiáhkhwa (Picking Up the Sky) (appointed May 24, 2025) is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural leader from the Kahnyen’kehàka (Mohawk) Nation in Ohswé:ken/Six Nations of the Grand River, as well as a Banff Centre alumna and former faculty member.
Melanie Kwong (appointed March 9, 2026) is Vice-President, Strategic Policy, Business and Digital Services with Parks Canada.
Left: Aerial View of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, photo by Don Lee.
Opposite (left to right): Tanya Fir, Myles McDougall, Paul Baay, and Chris Lorway, Banff Centre Celebrates, photo by Rita Taylor.
Board of Governors of The Banff Centre (operating as Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity) is a corporation that operates under the Post-Secondary Learning Act in Alberta. Banff Centre is also a registered charity (registration # 11921 4955 RR0001), and under section 149 of the Income Tax Act in Canada is exempt from income tax.
Banff Centre is supported by funding from the Government of Alberta through Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education, Alberta Infrastructure, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Arts programs are supported by funding from the Government of Canada through the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Arts Training Fund. The experience at Banff Centre is also enriched through generous support from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
I would like to thank every member of our Board of Governors and Foundation for their teamwork and collaboration this year. I truly feel this group of leaders is guiding Banff Centre and our community to great things, which will be articulated in our next strategic plan, including our Journey to Reconciliation framework.
Chris Lorway
The Banff Centre Foundation
Robert L. Vanderhooft (Chair)
Paul Baay (ex officio)
Leslie Belzberg
Ken Hughes
Susie Kololian (until February 28, 2026)
Sandy Martin (until February 25, 2026)
Mike McMillan (until February 28, 2026)
Government Partners
In 2025–26, we were thrilled to partner with government agencies and delegations to complete several landmark events for Banff Centre and our stakeholders.
Most notably, we crossed paths with several departments while hosting the 2025 G7 Summit International Media Centre. We’d like to deeply thank our colleagues at Global Affairs Canada/Affaires mondiales Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie royale du Canada for their teamwork in ensuring a smooth,
safe event for our journalist and government delegate guests.
We were proud to co-host the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture in March 2026, the first gathering of its kind: uniting industry representatives from business, non-profit, and artists to discuss the future of AI policy that enables innovation and protects artistic integrity. Thank you to our partners in Canadian Heritage/ Patrimoine canadien, as well as the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and the
Aly Khan Musani
Chris Lorway (ex officio)
Myron Tétreault (interim)
Robert L. Vanderhooft is President and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Forthlane Partners, an independent Canadian firm.
Ken Hughes currently serves as Chair of the Board at Providence Therapeutics, Vice Chair of Beacon Data Centres, and Lead Independent Trustee of Nearctic Industrial REIT.
Banff Centre thanks former Foundation members Gavin Berger, Jill Price, and David Gagnon for their service.
Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, who spent both days in active conversation with summit attendees.
In addition to these federal agencies, we were also pleased to host several Deputy Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries throughout the year, as well as a special engagement with the Department of National Defence in support of the Complex Terrain Leader Course.
As a post-secondary institution operating under the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Minister Myles McDougall, Banff Centre is grateful for the ongoing support in bringing real-world practice and training to artists and leaders from around the world. Together, with Minister Tanya Fir and the Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Status of Women, we are making Banff an international hub for learning, expression, entertainment, and creativity.
Revenue & Expenses
The following tables include the composition of Banff Centre’s total revenue and expenses for the year ended March 31, 2026 (in thousands of dollars).
2025–26 Revenue
$77,704
2025–26 Expenses
$69,334
Expenses Distribution
Banff Centre’s posted surplus in 2025—26 is due to one-time hosting events, and has been allocated to necessary building maintenance, equipment upgrades, and other capital projects.
1,381 Total Enrolled Participants
79 Arts and Leadership Programs 95% Overall Participant Satisfaction 96% “I felt welcome and respected.”
Event Highlights
57,500+
Attendees to all events, festivals, performances, and exhibitions Including
19,500+
Attendees at free shows and events 3,500+ Visitors to the Walter Phillips Gallery
300+ Conferences Hosted
18,000+ Attendees
77,000+ Hotel nights booked
541 Employees
Photos: Drezus, Drezus Live featuring JayMak & Guests, photo by Abigaile Edwards;
Centre, Vistas Dining Room, photo by Rita Taylor.
Supporters 2025–26
In recognition of donors and supporters who contributed to Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.
Government of Alberta
Alberta Advanced Education
Alberta Community Initiatives Program
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Government of Canada
Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine Canadien
Canada Council for the Arts / Conseil des arts du Canada
Western Economic Diversification Canada
$500,000 – $999,999
Anonymous Fund via Calgary Foundation
$100,000 – $249,999
Christine and David Anderson
David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund
Fondation DRG
Future Generations Foundation
Parkland Corporation
RBC Foundation and RBC
Shell Canada Limited
Anonymous
$50,000 – $99,999
The Azrieli Foundation
Banff and Lake Louise Tourism
Heather Edwards
Indigenous Screen Office
Lewitt Family Foundation
Oboz
Rab
SLY Foods
$25,000 – $49,999
Jenny Belzberg
DUER Canada
The Flanagan Foundation
Front Row Insurance
Grangers
Sandra Green
Christopher R. Head
HOVERAir
The Jarislowsky Foundation
Lake Louise Ski Resort
Jeff and Marilyn McCaig
Jennifer and Mike McMillan
Michael & Jane Evans Family Fund at Calgary Foundation
National Outdoor Leadership School
Nossa Familia Coffee
The Palmer Family Foundation
Power Corporation of Canada
Power Sustainable Capital Inc.
Susan and David Targett
Touchstone Exploration Inc.
Virginia Middleberg Fund at Calgary Foundation
World Expeditions
Anonymous (2)
$10,000 – $24,999
Alpine Club of Canada
Arc’teryx
Beyond Boundaries
Bird Construction
Brays Run Production
Canadian Crude Oil Conference
Edna and Richard Cushman
Estate of Maria David-Evans
Durston
Fjallraven North America
Stephen Foote
Jarislowsky Fraser Limited
Jeffrey Jansen
Kololian Family
Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise
John and Sheilagh Langille
Susan Larson
The Lecky Foundation
Blaine and Carmen Lennox
Lodge at Bow Lake
Jamie* and Brenda Mackie
MacLachlan Ridge Family
Nikon
Lynn Superstein
Wild Life Distillery
Wild Rose Brewery (Sleeman)
The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation
Anonymous (2)
$5,000 – $9,999
Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation
Ambler
American Alpine Club
Brinna Brinkerhoff
Fiona Mactaggart and Kevin Collison
Norma and David Cooke
Naomi Schmold and Craig Corbett
Michael and Heather Culbert
Bryan de Lottinville
Drop Caramel
Flair Foundation
David Gagnon
Wade Gerten
Lavina and Bill Gilliland
Helen Graham
Courtney Maxwell and Robert Hilsden
Sandra Morrison and Joe Horton
Jackman Foundation
Janet Griesdale Fund at TD Waterhouse/ Private Giving Foundation
Tim and Alana Kitchen
Lolë
Maclab Development Group and Second Street Fund
Mactaggart Third Fund
Mawer Investment Management
David Paperny and Audrey Mehler
Aly Khan and Nasim Musani
The Myron and Catherine Tétreault Foundation
Norseman Outdoor
The North Face
NRS
Neuhoff Capital Corporation
Marcia Nelson and Steve Patten
Rob and Patricia Peabody
Peter Poole and Nan Hughes Poole
Promateus Ltd.
Sandy Brown and David Pyke
Red Bull Media
Josephine Ridge
Rocky Mountain Books
JS and Grace Ryu
Shackleton
Clarice Evans Siebens
Stuart Olson Inc.
Switzerland Tourism
Tecnica Group
Frances Harley Urtasun and Raul Urtasun
Wappel McLean Family Foundation
The Whyte
WoolAid
$1,000 – $4,999
Mark Bergen and Heidi Allen
Bert and Olga Almon
Gail Andrew
Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
Ginger Anders and Joseph Baker
Bruce and Carol Bentley
Linda Black, K.C. and Doug Black, K.C.
Peter Brandon
Michael Brown and Julia Buonanno
The Carol Shields Prize Foundation
Jules Chamberlain
Core Values Cider Co.
Delia Cristea
Steven Swenson and Ann Dalton
Eric Duiker
Judith Gelber
Hicks Memorial Fund at Calgary Foundation
Stephanie Howard
Ernest Howe
The JAGelber Fund
Donald K. Johnson
Michael Jolliffe
Hsing Jou
Andy Kenins and Heather Kaine
Valerie and Clarence Kapay
Hong-Yol and Soo-Ok Kim
Kumpfy Shoes
Ava Lee
Sue Lee and Leslie LeQuelenec
Bette and Winston Lord
Chris Lorway
The Marcia Nelson & Steve Patten Fund at QUBE Charitable Foundation
Shirley McClary
Vickie and Russell McKinnon, K.C.
Meteoros Fund at Calgary Foundation
Arliss Miller
Brian D. Warner and Margaret J. Miller
Mountain Life Media
Netherlands Investment Company of Canada Limited
Ödön and Yvonne Panek Family FundOttawa Community Foundation
Pages Book Store Kensington
Pamela Grigg Charitable Fund at Calgary Foundation
Peter and Dorothea Macdonnell Fund at Edmonton Community Foundation
Mark Wold and Charlene Quantz-Wold
William D. Robertson
Connie and Gabe Shelley
SkiUp Hill
Tom and Ellen Smee
Andrew Smith
The Smith Vanstokkom Foundation
SOMAR Family Foundation (Sandy and Larry Martin)
Dan Sparks (Beres+Sparks+Wiegand)
Symend
Townsend Family Fund at Calgary Foundation
Brian Mills and Susan Tyrrell
University of Calgary
Lori Ward
Lore Ruschiensky and Dennis Weist
Willock and Sax Gallery
Mark and Susan Wittrup
Yoko Oike Wong
Woodburys
Anonymous (8)
Gifts in Kind / In Kind Services $1,000+
Banff Airporter
Rebecca Belmore
Estate of Patricia Deadman
Eventive
Estate of Pierre Lapointe
Lodge at Bow Lake
Turnbull Family
YETI
* deceased
Note: Amounts above represent actual funds received and do not include pledge amounts committed that are receivable in future years.
Other Supporters and Partners
We are grateful to these foundations that help make donor giving possible.
Aqueduct Foundation
Benefaction Foundation
The Benevity Community Impact Fund
Calgary Foundation
Canada Gives
CanadaHelps
CHIMP: Charitable Impact Foundation
Council for Canadian American Relations
Edmonton Community Foundation
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Gift Funds Canada
Ottawa Community Foundation
Private Giving Foundation
QUBE Charitable Foundation
United Way of Greater Toronto
Endowments
Includes all endowments with a market value of $300,000+.
Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music
Andrea Brussa Master Artist Endowment Fund
Arnold Spohr Distinguished Guest Artist Endowment for Dance
Aurora Fund for the Advancement of String Quartet Music
Banff Centre General Endowment
Barbara and John Poole Memorial Endowment
Bruce McKinnon Memorial Endowment
CIBC Emerging Artists Scholarships Endowment
Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians
David Spencer Emerging Vocalists Endowment
Eldon and Anne Foote Fund for Cultural and Environmental Leaders
Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment
Freeze Family Career Development
Program Fund, BISQC
Freeze Family Instrument Fund
Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky
Outstanding Artist Program
Leighton Artists Studios Facility Renewal Fund Endowment
Liz Crockford Artists Fund
Mackie Family Creation Fund Endowment
Maclab Enterprises Endowment
MacLachlan Ridge Family Endowment
Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer
Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists
Marshall M. Williams Endowment
Mary E. Hofstetter Legacy Fund for Excellence in the Visual Arts
Michael Davies Scholarship Endowment Fund
N. Murray Edwards Family Fund
Nonprofit Leadership Scholarship Fund
Ontario Artists Endowment
Paul D. Fleck Fellowships in the Arts Endowment
Peter and Sheila Bentley Distinguished Guest Artist Endowment
Repsol Emerging Artists Award Endowment
Repsol Master Artists Endowment
Rogers Communications Chair in Literary Journalism Endowment
Rosetta and Mario Stella Endowment
Sir Jack Lyons Scholarship for the Arts
Vladimir and Yachiyo Wolodarsky Endowment
Fund for Literary Arts & Music
Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund
In Memory
Colleen Anderson Millard
Michael Bawtree
Harold D. Brown
Denis Jackson
Rahim Count Kassam Jivraj
Carol Ann Johnson
Anna Jordan
Maureen Katchen
David McCullagh
Bruce McKinnon
Verna Quon
Tom Rolston
Isabel Rule
John Rule
Max Superstein
Dorothy Zolf McDonald
No matter the gift or service, Banff Centre is deeply grateful for the generosity of our donors. We wouldn’t be able to do this work without you.
Change lives. Inspire creativity.
“Before I knew it, I was writing a winter suite— a love letter to winter from the studio at Banff Centre. And that just never would have happened without being in this environment and place. That is the gift of Banff Centre—you just never know where inspiration will come from, only that it will come.”
Laila Biali on writing her Grammy-nominated album, Wintersongs , at Banff Centre
Donate Today. banffcentre.ca/support-us
Laila Biali, Live at Maclab 2023, photo by Rita Taylor.
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus—artists, leaders, and thinkers—to unleash their creative potential.