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.

The Introduction to Macintosh Computing course (with instructor Douglas Smith) brought participants from computer-ese to computer-ease, taking part in a low-pressure, low-tech, no-experience-necessary, hand-on introduction to (allegedly) the world’s friendliest computer. From the On switch to shutdown, participants delved into the Macintosh computer, learned the jargon, mastered the numbers, and just plain moused around. Question and answer sessions dealt with simple trouble shooting, buying and using a system, software, scanners, printers, and external storage devices.