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Kurt Fonseca

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Kurt Fonseca assumed the role of Vice President, Hospitality, Conferences, and Physical Facilities on November 7, 2024. With over 20 years of leadership in the hospitality industry, Kurt is widely recognized for driving business success through innovative strategies and operational excellence. His experience encompasses hotels, restaurants, and conferences, with a proven track record of managing development and renovation projects, including the iconic restoration of the historic Mount Royal Hotel.

Originally from Ontario, Kurt has called the Bow Valley home for over 25 years. He began his career with the Leadership Development team at the Banff Centre and has since become a prominent figure in the Canadian Rockies' hospitality sector. Over the years, he has successfully managed more than 20 properties, including large-scale collections with Pursuit and Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Kurt leads an active lifestyle. He enjoys travelling with his family, hiking, mountain biking, golfing, coaching, and playing hockey, embodying the spirit of the mountain community he proudly serves.

Vice President, Hospitality, Conferences, and Physical Facilities
Description

Banff Centre’s Mountain Culture and Indigenous Arts programs invite you to a screening of Cody Lefthand’s Stories We Have Earned: The Stoney Nakoda Film Project (Canada, 2024). The documentary examines the exploitation of the Iyarhe Nakoda people’s culture and customs for entertainment through their involvement in Banff Indian Days, the Calgary Stampede, and dozens of Hollywood films.

The screening takes place in the majestic Shaw Amphitheatre, which sports a 360˚ view of Banff’s gorgeous surroundings. A natural valley in the heart of Banff Centre campus, there’s no better spot to enjoy both the mountains and the arts in the summer.

In case of bad weather, this event will take place indoors in the Max Bell Auditorium.

“Stories We Have Earned: The Stoney Nakoda Film Project is a blending of cinema history and the history of my people the Stoney Nakoda. I want to use the many films shot in our community to tell the bigger history of our struggle against the many injustices placed upon the Stoney under Treaty 7.” — director Cody Lefthand

Films
Amphitheatre
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
From the film Stories We Have Earned: The Stoney Nakoda Film Project
Page Summary
This 2024 documentary by Cody Lefthand examines the exploitation of the Iyarhe Nakoda people’s culture and customs for entertainment.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Performance Date
Date
Computed Sort Date
1757125800
Description

Bring a blanket and the whole family for a night of inspiring, mountain-themed short films under the stars.

Films include: 
“The Streif — Fabio Wibmer” (Austria, 2024, 3 min) 
“River Mamma” (USA, 2023, 11 min) 
“109 Below” (USA, 2023, 14 min) 
“Keep it Burning” (France, 2024, 33 min) 
“Welcome to the Pit” (Canada, 2024, 15 min) 
“Undammed” (USA, 2024, 17 min)

This event takes place in the majestic Shaw Amphitheatre, which sports a 360˚ view of Banff’s gorgeous surroundings. A natural valley in the heart of Banff Centre campus, there’s no better spot to enjoy both the mountains and the arts in the summer.

In case of bad weather, this event will take place indoors in the Max Bell Auditorium.

Films
Amphitheatre
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Image of Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and World Tour Outdoor Community Screening
Page Summary
Bring a blanket and the whole family for a night of inspiring, mountain-themed short films under the stars.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Performance Date
Date
Exhibition Location
Computed Sort Date
1757039400
Description

Join us for an invigorating evening of creativity at Literary Cabaret, part of the Summer Writers residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore intimate readings of groundbreaking poetry and prose by participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Eric Sneathen, a poet and queer literary historian. Sneathen is the author of Snail Poems (2016) and Don’t Leave Me This Way (2023). With Lauren Levin, he edited Honey Mine (2021), the selected fictions of Camille Roy.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of creative writing.

Literary Arts
CLVB '33
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Eric Sneathen
Page Summary
Eric Sneathen, a poet and queer literary historian and the author of Snail Poems, will host and read alongside writers from the Summer Writers Residency.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Event Tags
Performance Date
Date
Extra Description

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. 

Location
Computed Sort Date
1756256400
Event Subtitle
Hosted by Eric Sneathen
Description

Join us for an invigorating evening of creativity at Literary Cabaret, part of the Summer Writers residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore intimate readings of groundbreaking poetry and prose by participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by poet Catriona Strang. A founding member of the Institute for Domestic Research, Strang is the author of Low Fancy, Corked, Reveries of a Solitary Biker, and Unfuckable Lardass.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of creative writing.

Literary Arts
CLVB '33
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Catriona Strang
Page Summary
Poet and author of Low Fancy, Corked, and Unfuckable Lardass, Catriona Strang, will host and read alongside writers from the Summer Writers Residency.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Event Tags
Performance Date
Date
Extra Description

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. 

Location
Computed Sort Date
1756429200
Event Subtitle
Hosted by Catriona Strang
Description

Join us for an invigorating evening of creativity at Literary Cabaret, part of the Summer Writers residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore intimate readings of groundbreaking poetry and prose by participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Douglas Kearney, a poet, performer, and librettist. Kearney has published eight books, ranging from poetry to essays. In 2023, Optic Subwoof, a collection of his Bagley Wright lectures, won the Poetry Foundation’s Pegasus Prize for Poetry Criticism and the CLMP Firecracker Award for Creative Nonfiction. His collection Sho was a Griffin Poetry Prize and Minnesota Book Award winner.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of creative writing.

Literary Arts
CLVB '33
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Douglas Kearney in glasses wearing a red shirt.
Page Summary
Award-winning poet, performer, and librettist Douglas Kearney will host and read alongside writers from the Summer Writers Residency.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Event Tags
Performance Date
Date
Extra Description

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. 

Location
Computed Sort Date
1755824400
Event Subtitle
Hosted by Douglas Kearney
Description

Join curator and writer Tak Pham for a discussion of his curatorial practice.

Pham is currently curator of the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary. He was formerly associate curator at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina.

He has curated exhibitions and organized curatorial projects for Contemporary Calgary, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Varley Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Nuit Blanche Toronto, among others. His writings and reviews have appeared in Canadian Art, C Magazine, ESPACE art actuel, esse arts + opinions, Galleries West, The Brooklyn Rail, ArtAsiaPacific, and Hyperallergic.

Pham is a 2025 faculty member for Early Career Banff Artist in Residence (BAiR)—a transformative five-week residency that provides mentorship, critical feedback, and studio time to visual artists and curators in the early stages of their careers.

This event is part of the Visual Arts Open Lecture Series, which presents talks by leading Canadian and international artists, curators, and academics.

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

Visual Arts
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Tak Pham
Page Summary
Curator and writer Tak Pham discusses his cross-country curatorial practice.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Performance Date
Date
Extra Description

4-5:30 PM

Computed Sort Date
1754949600
Description

Join us for an afternoon talk with Canadian curator Riva Symko.

In this lecture, Symko provides an overview of her own professional practice in order to think through some of the broader curatorial shifts of the past decade and a half. She considers recent curatorial methodologies as a series of relationships that have moved from sites of knowledge, to practices of opportunity, to spaces of care.

Symko is a 2025 faculty member for Early Career Banff Artist in Residence (BAiR)—a transformative five-week residency that provides mentorship, critical feedback, and studio time to visual artists and curators in the early stages of their careers.

This event is part of the Visual Arts Open Lecture Series, which presents talks by leading Canadian and international artists, curators, and academics.

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

Visual Arts
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Riva Symko
Page Summary
Curator Riva Symko uses her own professional practice as a jumping-off point to explore broader curatorial trends from the last decade and a half.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Performance Date
Date
Extra Description

4-5:30 PM

Computed Sort Date
1753740000
Description

The Handmaids Tale
Composed by Poul Ruders Libretto by Paul Bentley
A new arrangement by Dan Schlosberg, commissioned by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Presented under license from G. Schirmer, Inc. o/b/o Edition Wilhelm Hansen, copyright owners. 

Kamna Gupta, Conductor
Brenna Corner, Director
Amanda Testini, Associate Director
Gillian Gallow Set, Designer
Jessica Oostergo, Costume Designer
Sophie Tang, Lighting Designer
S. Katy Tucker, Projections Designer
Anastasia St. Amand, Intimacy & Fight Coordinator
 

A right-wing theocracy, a burning planet, and resistance against all odds.

The operatic adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s chillingly relevant dystopian classic comes to the stage in the fully realized world premiere of a chamber arrangement by acclaimed pianist Dan Schlosberg, commissioned by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and performed by Interplay faculty and participants.

This staging of The Handmaid’s Tale marks the culmination of a month-long residency bringing together opera singers, répétiteurs, chamber musicians, stage directors, stage managers, conductors, prop builders, and wardrobe technicians. It provides early-career opera, music, and theatre professionals the unique opportunity to work on a fully produced opera with a world-class creative team, including conductor Kamna Gupta and director Brenna Corner.

“In Dan Schlosberg we trust. He is the musical mastermind behind Heartbeat [Opera]’s daring arrangements, and his work is always intriguing.” — New York Times

“Dan Schlosberg [is] perhaps the wittiest arranger of his generation.” — Observer


Content Advisory:

This opera closely follows the themes and narratives of the original novel with imagery and scenes of sexual and physical violence reflective of the dystopian setting (including depictions of rape and hanging). Viewer discretion is advised. For a full list of content notes please contact Audience Services.

Interplay is made possible through the generous support of the David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.
Banff Centre is in partnership with the Music in PyeongChang.

 

Music & Opera
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
White hat and hands holding circular flower in the Handmaids Tale Illustration
Page Summary
The operatic adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s chillingly relevant dystopian classic comes to the stage in a world premiere chamber arrangement by Dan Schlosberg.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Age Restrictions
Age 14 +
Event Tags
Performance Date
Date
Audience View Micro Site URL
https://tickets.banffcentre.ca/Online/mapSelect.asp?BOset::WSmap::seatmap::performance_ids=415F22E5-DA35-47AF-A55D-B0AB52D10016
Extra Description

Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
Intermission: 15 Minutes

Computed Sort Date
1753579800
Description

The music of Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand draws from a wide pool of influences, including graphic art, myths, folk music, film, spoken word, jazz, and his own Middle Eastern heritage. In a protean catalogue of solo, chamber, vocal and orchestral compositions, his work embraces a variety of interests, issues, and approaches.

Enjoy selections from his catalogue performed by the participants and faculty of the Interplay program, which celebrates the convergence of opera and chamber music, bringing together composers, musicians, singers, and more.

Interplay is made possible through the generous support of the David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.
Banff Centre is in partnership with the Music in PyeongChang.

Music & Opera
Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival
Karim Al-Zand
Page Summary
Enjoy selections from Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand’s sweeping catalogue, performed by the participants and faculty of the Interplay program.
Exhibition
No
Banff Centre Artist/Practicum/Staff Only
Off
Licensed
Off
Event Tags
Performance Date
Date
Audience View Micro Site URL
https://tickets.banffcentre.ca/Online/mapSelect.asp?BOset::WSmap::seatmap::performance_ids=EA6DE08A-E5EB-4006-8100-12A6084CA404
Computed Sort Date
1753493400
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