A remarkable year
A lasting legacy

As I write this welcome message, The Banff Centre’s 75th anniversary year is drawing to a close. And what a remarkable year it has been! The Banff Centre celebrated 75 years of inspiring creativity throughout 2008 with performances and events across Canada and as far afield as New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. We’ve launched new programs in dance, drama, puppetry, Aboriginal vocal music, music composition, and choral works.

Our 75th anniversary year has also resulted in legacy projects that will benefit artists and communities for years to come. As you will read in this edition of Inspired, The Banff Centre has commissioned a new play by Daniel MacIvor, and we will provide significant support to two additional plays — each of them exploring themes of enduring significance to Canadians. We have purchased Rebecca Belmore’s iconic art work Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother and brought it home to Banff, ensuring that this seminal work will be accessible for generations to come.

In future years, we look forward to seeing many other 75th anniversary legacies come to life, including a new public art work commissioned by the Centre and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, to be unveiled when the Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation opens in 2010; a new work for string quartet by celebrated composer John Adams; and a new violin by Samuel Zygmuntovich, one of the world’s most respected violin makers.

Just as lasting — and thrilling — will be the legacies created by the artists and business and community leaders who participated in Banff Centre programs throughout 2008. Writer Maria Coffey, the subject of our cover story, came back to Banff this year to complete a multi-year project exploring the human and spiritual impact of extreme adventure. Singer/songwriter Jill Barber discovered that the Centre is the ideal location to compose a new album. Colombian media artist Jairo Eduardo Carrillo immortalized the voices of displaced children during a Centre residency. And Joni Mitchell and Alberta Ballet touched down in Banff to complete work on their full-length version of The Fiddle and the Drum.

Each of those legacies is made possible through the generous support of The Banff Centre’s many donors. Included in this issue of Inspired is our annual listing of donors contributing more than $1,000 to the Centre during the past fiscal year. The enduring impact of their support can be found on every page of this publication. Please join me in thanking them for their commitment to inspiring creativity.