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Program Information
Germaine Koh, League (2012 – ongoing), photo from the League Project, courtesy the artist
Overview
Banff Artist in Residence (BAiR) - Summer 2026 is a six-week program for visual artists at all career stages. Participants in this program are encouraged to develop their work in a supportive learning environment. They will be mentored by leading faculty who, working across a range of media and approaches, demonstrate a concern for environmental responsibility and ecological sustainability.
Participants will engage in a range of residency activities including: faculty lectures, studio visits, artist-led workshops, gallery tours and formal and informal peer dialogue. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work with the public during Open Studios.
A defining feature of BAiR programs is the opportunity to create connections and expand one's peer community. This program is designed for participation over the entire six week program period. Variable dates will not be considered.
Description
Visual Arts residencies at Banff Centre are structured programs of faculty-led activity and mentorship, supporting project-based studio practice.
This program encourages:
- the development of conceptual thought through faculty talks and studio visits
- the development of technical skills through studio-based experimentation and learning
- discussion-based programs and workshops to support professional development
- cross-cultural engagement with international faculty and participants
- peer-to-peer engagement to foster a professional community.
Studio-based work is further supported by faculty studio visits, lectures, and workshops, fostering a valuable community of learning. Artists are assigned individual studios with access to shared production facilities. Knowledgeable staff are available to provide technical assistance.
Please take note of the program itinerary when planning your project proposal.
Facility access is based on availability of facilitators and priority goes to those requesting access in their initial applications.
Requirements
This residency is for individual artists or duos (of no more than two collaborators) who have:
- completed formal training in visual arts at the post-secondary level, or
- equivalent experience and recognition from their peers acquired through traditional knowledge and practices.
Artists working in, but not limited to, practices in
- ceramics
- digital media, video, and photography
- painting, drawing, printmaking and papermaking
- sculpture and installation
- performance art
are invited to apply.
Priority will be given to artists who have not attended a Visual Arts residency at Banff Centre in the past three years.
Please note that children are not permitted in visual arts studios or production areas.
This program is designed for participation over the entire program period. Variable dates will not be considered.
Eligibility
Applicants must be 18+ at the time of the program start date.
Domestic and international applications are welcome.
Visa Eligibility Information:
- Please note that Banff Centre programs do not meet the eligibility requirements for a Canadian Student Visa.
- If you are accepted into our program, you must obtain a Visitor Visa to enter Canada. Accepted participants are responsible for identifying and complying with the immigration requirements to enter Canada as a visitor from their country of origin. If you require a Visitor Visa please check the current expected processing times well in advance of applying.
Inclusivity Statement
We welcome applicants of all ages (18+), backgrounds, gender identities and expressions to apply. Artists from historically underrepresented and equity deserving groups are especially welcome.
Itinerary
Week 1
- July 12: Arrival
- July 13-14: Orientations
- July 13-14: Participant Presentations
- July 16: Faculty Talk
Week 2
- July 20: Faculty Talk
Week 3
- July 28: Guest Artist Talk
- Faculty Led Workshops (dates TBC)
Week 4
- August 4: Guest Artist Talk
- Faculty Led Workshop (Dates TBC)
Week 5
- Ongoing Studio Work
Week 6
- August 19: Open Studios
- August 21: Farewell Gathering
- August 22: Departure
All dates are subject to change. One-on-one sessions with faculty mentors will be booked during program dates.
Faculty
Germaine Koh
Germaine Koh is an artist and organizer whose work ranges widely across media. Her work adapts familiar objects, everyday actions, and common spaces to create situations that look at the significance of communal experiences and the connections between people, technology, and natural systems. Koh's ongoing projects include the Slow Fashion Season, an initiative encouraging sustainability in textiles and clothing; the Home Made Home initiative to build and advocate for alternative forms of housing; and the League project focused on play as a form of creative practice. Koh received a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2023 and was a 2023-24 Shadbolt Fellow in the Humanities at Simon Fraser University. She served as the City of Vancouver’s first Engineering Artist in Residence in 2018-20 and the 2021 Koerner Artist in Residence at the University of British Columbia, where she is now an Assistant Professor in Visual Art.
https://germainekoh.com
Faculty, July 13-Aug 1 & Aug 10-21
Mackenzie Kelly-Frère
Director and Associate Professor in the School of Craft & Emerging Media at the Alberta University of the Arts. Mackenzie received his MFA in 2005 from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University and his BFA in 1998 from Alberta College of Art & Design. His ongoing research focuses on collaboration with material that considers our co-evolution with plants and animals who provide the fibre we use to make cloth; and the communities and relationships required to sustain this activity. He has exhibited his work internationally, and participated in residencies at the Icelandic Textile Centre in Blönduós and the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland Oregon. His writing includes texts for Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture and VAV Magazine. Mackenzie lives in Mohkinstsis (Calgary), Canada with husband Kristofer and daughter Elizabeth.
Faculty, July 13-Aug 21
Basia Irland
Fulbright Scholar Basia Irland is an artist, author, and activist who creates international large-scale water projects featured in her books Water Library (University of New Mexico Press) and Reading the River: The Ecological Activist Art of Basia Irland (Museum De Domijnen, the Netherlands). A monograph, Basia Irland, Repositories: Portable Sculptures for Waterway Journeys, is authored by Patricia Watts. Texas A & M University Press published What Rivers Know: Listening to the Voices of Global Waterways in 2025 with 210 color images. Irland is professor emerita, Department of Art, University of New Mexico, where she founded the Art & Ecology Program. Her website, basiairland.com, contains extensive documentation, including collaborations with scientists, projects along the entire length of waterways, ephemeral Ice Book series, portable Repositories, waterborne disease scrolls, essays about global rivers, and images from her large museum retrospective in the Netherlands. Her art has been featured in over seventy international publications.
Guest Artist, July 26-Aug 1
Patty Chang
Patty Chang is a Los Angeles based artist and educator who uses performance, video, installation, and narrative forms when considering identity, gender, transnationalism, colonial legacies, the environment, large-scale infrastructural projects, and impacted subjectivities. Her most recent collaborative project, Learning Endings, is a multi-part interdisciplinary research that has surfaced amidst the overlapping contexts of climate crisis, threatened ocean ecosystems, and challenges to scientific expertise. In addition to numerous awards and fellowships, her work has been exhibited at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, New Museum, M+ Museum in Hong Kong, and Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. She teaches at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA.
Guest Artist, Aug 2-8
Technical Requirements
What's Included
Meal Plan
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The meal plan is equivalent to $68 credit per day.
Using a credit-based system to dine on campus, our flexible meal plan allows you to select meals according to your own needs during your stay. Banff Centre can respond to most dietary requests.
Accommodation
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Your program fee includes a single bedroom on the Banff Centre campus for the duration of your program.
Get connected with other artists on campus and focus on your projects in a creative environment while we take care of the day-to-day essentials.
Studio Space
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Create in the privacy of one of our specialized studios.
Refer to the Visual Arts Facilities Booklet for a detailed list of equipment available.
Showcase Your Work
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This program offers opportunities to showcase your work-in-progress.
Group Seminars/Workshops
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Group seminars and workshops with faculty.
Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives
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The Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives are delighted to support Banff Centre Participants, Artists, and Faculty
Campus Facilities
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- Participant Resources: Enrich your experience and get to know other artists on campus by taking advantage of the activities and support provided.
- Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation Centre: Your program fee includes free access to the swimming pool, climbing gym and fitness equipment.
- Box Office Discounts: Enjoy special artist rates or complimentary access for ticketed performances.
Fees & Financial Assistance
Application Fee
$65 for individuals or groups, $35 for applicants who identify as Indigenous.
The application fee is non-refundable. 100% of this fee goes towards the cost of administering the application in SlideRoom.
Scholarships
We are pleased to offer scholarships to support participants in our program. Below are details regarding the scholarship amount and how they are applied.
- Standard scholarship: covers 100% of tuition fees, and 50% of meals and accommodation costs.
- Canadian Indigenous scholarship: covers 100% of tuition fees, meals, and accommodation costs.
To receive the standard scholarship, please complete the Financial Aid section when uploading your supporting materials.
Help fund your experience at Banff Centre by viewing our compiled list of national and international opportunities here.
Cancellations
Information on our cancellation policy can be found here.
Tax Information
Banff Centre will issue official tax receipts for eligible tuition fees and financial assistance and awards as required by the Income Tax Act. You will receive a T2202 (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) for eligible tuition fees paid and a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income) for applicable financial assistance and awards.
How to Apply
Learn more about the steps to Complete Your Application.
Step 1:
Complete the Online FormStep 2:
Please login with the username and password emailed to you on completion of step 1.
Step 3:
Upload Your MaterialsResume
A two-page resume or C.V. describing academic, professional, and other relevant experience.
Group applications should submit all resumes in one document.
Artist Statement
A 250 word description of why you wish to attend this program, what you hope to learn or achieve, and what impact it could have on your artistic practice.
Project Proposal
In 500 words, describe the conceptual framework of your proposed project, your weekly execution plan, details of the mediums you propose to use and your level of knowledge in the processes required, and outline any specific technical or support requirements.
Resource Requests
Outline all studio, equipment, software, facility, or staff support required for your project. Final resource allocation is at the discretion of the department. This form can be found in the SlideRoom portion of the application.
Refer to the Visual Arts Facilities Booklet for a detailed list of equipment available.
Portfolio
Provide 6-10 samples of your artistic work.
File sizes and specifications are available in our upload tool.
Financial Assistance
Be sure to complete the Financial Aid question in SlideRoom to be eligible for financial assistance.
Applications from Collaboratives
Collaborative groups of no more than two are welcome to apply. The lead applicant should complete:
- Step 1: One application form
- Step 2: Pay the $65 processing fee on behalf of the group
- Step 3: One SlideRoom application
Please submit only one SlideRoom application per duo.
Note: An additional $35 registration fee will be added for each member upon acceptance to the program.
Adjudication
Participants are chosen by an adjudication panel comprising of internal and external assessors. The selection criteria include:
- Quality, originality and artistic merit.
- Required skills and experience.
- The potential for the applicant's work to benefit from the program.
- Banff Centre’s ability to support the project.
Our programs are highly competitive with a limited number of places available. Applicants will be notified of their selection status as soon as the adjudication process is complete. Due to the high volume of applications individual feedback will not be provided.
Disclaimer
All programs, faculty, dates, fees, and offers of financial assistance are subject to change. Program fee is subject to applicable taxes. Non-refundable fees and deposits will be retained upon cancellation. Any other fees are refunded at the discretion of the Banff Centre. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
Contact Admissions
For questions on preparing your application, please contact Admissions:
Toll Free Number (Canada + USA)
1.800.565.9989
Phone
403.762.6180