Media and Visual Arts short-term training courses and workshops provided concentrated career-related learning opportunities for artists, technicians and other cultural workers. Most courses were designed for self-employed people with limited time, who needed to upgrade their practical skills in a particular hardware or software application for them to earn more of their living directly from their art practice.

Courses were designed as stand-alone learning opportunities. Participants were encouraged, however, to attend one or more courses to upgrade their skills in preparation for application to longer Banff Centre work study/practicum programs.

Participants were also able to combine courses with production opportunities, through a self-directed residency in Media and Visual Arts. After completing a course, artists could work in the Centre’s studios and facilities and put their new skills to immediate use in their work.

Adobe Illustrator is a popular design package that is an industry standard when it comes to working with Postscript images and layout. In the Introduction to Adobe Illustrator course (with instructor Douglas Smith) participants learned to make the most of its many features through this two-day workshop designed for the intermediate user. Prerequisite: Macintosh experience or completion of Introduction to Macintosh Computing.