The Visual Arts Lecture Series presents talks by leading Canadian and international artists, curators, and academics.

Join Althea Thauberger (she/they), artist, filmmaker, educator, and faculty for the Banff Artist in Residence (BAiR): Early Career 2025 program for an engaging afternoon talk.

Althea Thauberger is known for place-based experimental documentary projects that emerge from collaborative research and production processes. Her work—spanning film, video, audio recordings, and photographs—examines community histories, geopolitical events, and sociopolitical power dynamics, including ones involved in the production process itself

Thauberger’s recent exhibitions include the Kaunas Biennial in Lithuania, the Toronto Biennial of Art, La Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and The Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. Of settler Scandinavian and Black Sea German descent, Thauberger is based on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples and teaches Visual Art and Cultural Theory at The University of British Columbia.

Visual Arts is supported by the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Outstanding Artist Program.
 

Join us for an insightful conversation with Michelle Thrush as part of the Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series.

Michelle will share reflections from her over thirty-year career as an actress and director in film, television, and theatre. She will explore the power of "transformation" and her evolving role as a director and conveyor of Indigenous storytelling. Growing up in Calgary and moving to Vancouver at a young age to pursue acting without formal training, Michelle absorbed teachings from legendary actors she worked with throughout her career. These experiences helped her become a multi-award-winning artist. She will also discuss how a conversation with an Elder at a young age shaped her ability to create safe spaces for Indigenous stories to be told and empowered her to change the narrative as a director.

Facilitated by Janine Windolph, Director of Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre, the session includes a presentation by Michelle Thrush, followed by a discussion and a Q&A. This conversation will be recorded and shared following the event, but the Q&A portion will remain unrecorded. Sessions may share experiences and ask difficult questions.

About the Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series

The Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series is a bi-monthly conversation session inviting leading Indigenous Art creators to discuss their practices and processes. The series engages an Indigenous lens across various art forms, including Literary Arts, Film and Media Arts, Digital Media, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts such as Theatre, Dance, and Music. These sessions offer a space to explore and deepen your understanding of how Indigenous artists use their disciplines as tools to decolonize artistic processes and creation.

Visit the Decolonizing the Narrative Conversation Series page to access recordings of previous talks and learn more about upcoming sessions.

Join us for the second of two free evening readings hosted by esteemed faculty member Danez Smith, featuring writers from the Winter Writers Residency. This residency brings together an exceptional literary community, offering participants the chance to explore their creative projects with guidance from award-winning authors Omar El Akkad and Danez Smith. These writers draw on their diverse backgrounds and experiences, which the residency nurtures into extraordinary storytelling. Discover an engaging range of fiction, poetry, and genre explorations as they share their voices with a live audience. Be inspired by their creativity, and experience the power of storytelling in the heart of the mountains.

Join us for the first of two free evening readings hosted by esteemed faculty member Omar El Akkad, featuring writers from the Winter Writers Residency. This residency brings together an exceptional literary community, offering participants the chance to explore their creative projects with guidance from award-winning authors Omar El Akkad and Danez Smith. These writers draw on their diverse backgrounds and experiences, which the residency nurtures into extraordinary storytelling. Discover an engaging range of fiction, poetry, and genre explorations as they share their voices with a live audience. Be inspired by their creativity, and experience the power of storytelling in the heart of the mountains.

Join us for an inspiring evening of readings with acclaimed writers Danez Smith and Omar El Akkad, faculty of the Winter Writers Residency. Smith, celebrated poet and author of Homie and the forthcoming Bluff, captivates audiences with powerful storytelling. Their work, which has won the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the Minnesota Book Award, has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and more. El Akkad, journalist and author of the internationally acclaimed American War and What Strange Paradise, brings his Giller Prize-winning narratives to the stage. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the magic of literature in the heart of the mountains. Books by the authors will be available for purchase at the event.