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"It feels like we’re only getting started."
The 2024–25 season marked my first full year in Banff. In this time, I’ve gotten to know and appreciate the full breadth of what this area has to offer, including being within an hour of some of the best skiing in the world, experiencing the Northern Lights for the first time, and getting regular wildlife updates in the local newspaper. Being a part of this welcoming and warm community also makes me appreciate what a pleasure it is to live every day in a place that so many people from around the world want to visit and experience.
Over this past year, Banff Centre campus has—in wonderful and thrilling ways—been anything but quiet. Our staff have gone to heroic efforts to bring back on-site activity for artists, program participants, conference guests, audiences, and our community. We relaunched the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival, unveiling a multi-disciplinary slate of over 70 public events in both indoor and outdoor spaces across campus. We brought back popular training programs in audio engineering, wardrobe and costume design, and piano repair and maintenance. Audiences once again flocked to the Banff International String Quartet Festival and the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, and our presenting series, Banff Centre Presents, welcomed artists from around the globe.
Internally, we’ve been busy too. We have focused on building a culture of “One Banff Centre,” where all employees have a clear sense of vision and direction and their role in advancing the mission of the organization. We’ve recruited a number of great additions to our executive leadership team, who bring fresh perspectives, open minds, and infectious energy. And a new Board of Governors has helped steer Banff Centre towards being more efficient and innovative, while maintaining stability and strong governance.
2024–25 has been a year of strengthening our foundation and building back stronger than ever, a year of reconnecting with our community and welcoming the world back to campus, and a year of planning for an exciting future that includes our centenary in 2033. We’re already witnessing the results of a new and revitalized Banff Centre. With our hearts in the present and our eyes on the future, it feels like we’re only getting started.
I hope you find the story of Banff Centre’s 2024–25 year as inspiring as I do. Read our latest Report to Community, Reflections, now.
Chris Lorway
President and CEO
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity