Walter Phillips Gallery at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Celebrates 50 Years of Artistic Innovation and Shaping Contemporary Art in Canada
By
Banff Centre Communications
Posted on
July 28, 2026
Steven Beckly, Misty Bow River, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery.
Walter Phillips Gallery celebrates its five-decade legacy with an exhibition of postcards featuring recollections from former exhibiting artists, exhibitions and events by acclaimed artists, and highlights of the gallery’s innovative publishing history.
BANFF, AB, NOVEMBER 12, 2026 – This year, Walter Phillips Gallery at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity celebrates 50 years of contributions to visual culture in Canada and internationally through exhibitions, publishing, curatorial research, and as stewards of Banff Centre’s permanent collection, featuring many works by artists who participated in exhibitions or residencies on its campus.
A pillar of year-round programming at Banff Centre, a post-secondary institution dedicated to arts development and training located in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Walter Phillips Gallery was founded in 1976 under the leadership of celebrated artist Takao Tanabe, Banff Centre’s then head of the painting department. The gallery was envisioned as part of Banff Centre’s arts training ecosystem, and continues to serve as a site of learning and engagement for artists at Banff Centre as well as the broader communities of the Bow Valley and beyond.
With a strong history as a platform for emerging forms of practice, Walter Phillips Gallery has long been an important site for contemporary art within Canada and internationally, with a legacy of supporting artists in the creation and presentation of new work. Over its nearly fifty year history, Walter Phillips Gallery has presented the work of a multitude of acclaimed artists including Rebecca Belmore, Neïl Beloufa, Diane Borsato, Andrea Büttner, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Carolina Caycedo, Cassils, Raven Chacon, Stephanie Comilang and Simon Speiser, Brian Jungen, Ragnar Kjartansson, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Candice Lin, Rita McKeough, Steve McQueen, Caroline Monnet, Sharon Lockhart, Carmen Papalia, Takao Tanabe, Peter von Tiesenhausen, Lou Sheppard, Jin-me Yoon, and many others.
Walter Phillips Gallery has long been a home for artistic and curatorial experimentation, and a place for new work and new directions for artists in the context of their practices. Its enduring legacy is reflective of the importance of supporting artists in pursuit of their work at all moments in their careers. As we reflect on the milestone of Walter Phillips Gallery’s fiftieth anniversary, we celebrate a history of creative risk-taking and the communities of artists, curators, writers, and learners who have shaped our history.
Jacqueline Bell, Director, Walter Phillips Gallery and Collections at Banff Centre
One arc in colour, another in time
On view from June of this year, the celebration began with One arc in colour, another in time, an anniversary exhibition that invites recollections to be shared by former exhibiting artists and others connected to Walter Phillips Gallery’s history. Postcards featuring an image of the work, Misty Bow River (2022) by Toronto-based artist Steven Beckly, which was made by the artist while in residence, were mailed to past artists who could be contacted. Each recipient received a postcard and invitation to return it with a recollection from their experience, alongside a second postcard to keep or mail to someone they connected with through Banff. As responses have arrived over the subsequent months, an archive has taken visible form. Following the exhibition, the postcards will become a resource for future research and comprise a social history available at Banff Centre’s archives.
Anniversaries often ask us to look back, but the exhibition One arc in colour, one in time invites its audience to look forward. Walter Phillips Gallery’s history doesn’t just lie in exhibitions and a permanent collection—the conversations, interactions, and relationships have shaped the gallery over the past 50 years. By inviting past artists to share their stories and memories, we’re building a living, breathing archive.
Josephine Ridge, Executive Director, Arts at Banff Centre
Celebrating Takao Tanabe’s 100th Birthday
Alongside Walter Phillips Gallery’s fiftieth anniversary, 2026 marks another significant moment in Canada’s contemporary art landscape–Tanabe’s 100th birthday. Tanabe’s leadership was instrumental in shaping the gallery’s early vision, and his impact and role as head of painting at Banff Centre from 1973 to 1980 are still felt on campus.
His commitment to improving teaching and his focus on art itself laid the foundation for the gallery, which has become an influential space that few artistic spaces can replicate. Celebrating these milestones together honours both Tanabe’s leadership and the gallery’s legacy as a space that brings critical recognition to emerging art forms.
Legacy of Publishing
Walter Phillips Gallery has an extensive publishing history that has included exhibition catalogues, writings on curatorial practice, among other texts on contemporary art. The gallery recently launched Cheryl L'Hirondelle: where the voice touches (((acts, utterances, transmissions for freedom))), the first monograph on the multidisciplinary artist and singer/songwriter’s practice, published by The Magenta Foundation in collaboration with Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (AGNES), Queen’s University; and the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University.
Many of these publications are currently available for lending at the Banff Centre Library or for purchase in person at Walter Phillips Gallery or by email. If you’d like to learn more about this history of publishing or want to be the first to know about upcoming exhibitions and events, sign up for the Walter Phillips Gallery newsletter here.
Exhibitions, Events, and Curatorial Residency Programs During the 50th Anniversary Year
One arc in colour, another in time
July 6, 2026 to January 3, 2027
Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building
Diane Borsato: A Clean Place to Swim
Saturday, July 18 – Sunday, December 13
Walter Phillips Gallery
In A Clean Place to Swim, Diane Borsato presents new and past works that explore the liberating, intimate, and communal possibilities of being in the water. Acts of teaching and learning, encounters across backgrounds, as well as illustrations of our shared right to clean natural environments, commingle in works made in lakes, rivers, hot springs, and community pools.
Listening Devices
Ongoing
A long-term exhibition of audio and score-based works that are informed by the relationship between sound, listener, and location taking place outside of Walter Phillips Gallery. Many works can be accessed online.
Banff International Curatorial Institute: Curating While Black
January 25, 2027 – February 12, 2027
Curating While Black is a research-based residency through the Banff International Curatorial Institute (BICI) led by faculty Sally Frater, Michelle Jacques, and Crystal Mowry.
Whispers of the Mountains
Curated by eunice bélidor
Opening Reception: February 10, 2027
February 11 – June 6, 2027
Walter Phillips Gallery
The exhibition Whispers of the Mountains, curated by eunice bélidor, will launch on February 10 in conjunction with the residency program, Curating While Black, running through the spring.
Family ARTventures
The second Saturday of every month
Next is November 14, 2026
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Walter Phillips Gallery
The gallery has also launched Family ARTventures, a free program designed to connect the Bow Valley community with meaningful access to contemporary art. Families and youth are invited to monthly workshops inspired by Banff Centre’s exhibitions and permanent collection, expanding cultural access to our community and inspiring creativity in one of Canada’s most unique artistic environments.
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity acknowledges the generous support of TD Bank Group through TD Ready Commitment. We are proud to partner with an organization that shares our belief in supporting arts and culture events, initiatives, and organizations through the transformative power of creativity, education, and community connection.
Through the Family ARTventures program, TD is helping Banff Centre expand access to contemporary art to children, youth, and families in the Bow Valley, creating space for the next generation to engage with the arts.
With 50 years of exhibitions, publishing, research, and artistic support, Walter Phillips Gallery remains a vital gathering place for artists, audiences, and ideas and is excited to continue building a legacy that defines contemporary art in Canada. Find out more at banffcentre.ca/walter-phillips-gallery.
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For photos, information, or interview requests, please contact:
Carly Maga
Director, Communications
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
tel: +1.403.763.6210
cell: +1.403.431.3423
carly_maga@banffcentre.ca
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become a global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines, from the fine arts to Indigenous Wise Practices. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus—artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences—to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca
About Walter Phillips Gallery
Walter Phillips Gallery is exclusively committed to the production, presentation, collection, and analysis of contemporary art and curatorial practice. For contemporary artists, particularly those engaged in alternative forms of practice, Walter Phillips Gallery remains an essential and principal site where art is presented to an audience for critical reception. banffcentre.ca/walter-phillips-gallery
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