Program Notice
Banff Centre has suspended all scheduled programs and events on campus until September. We will not be accepting applications during this time.
We are currently reviewing program offerings as part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like to be among the first to know about or new programs, please subscribe to our newsletter.
Meantime, you can browse a sampling of previous Banff Centre programs as a preview of what you might see in the future. If you have any questions please contact registrars_office@banffcentre.ca.
Program dates have passed. Please join our contact list for updates.
Rebuilding Summer Cultural Trade Routes
Program Information
Artists Elder Buddy Wesley and Jason Botkin collaborate on their work Anâraptâ - Listen to Me. Photo by Jessica Wittman.
Overview
This self-directed residency will explore reconciliation through creative process from an Indigenous perspective in a contemporary world.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn from Indigenous artists, Elders, and community members situated along the honoured cultural trade routes that define the ground we stand on in the Bow Valley. Providing accessible opportunities through reconcili-ACTION with our Indigenous neighbours and settler allies, we will create space within this cultural institution and the Bow Valley to forge new and profound connections.
Rebuilding Summer Cultural Trade Routes will provide safe spaces where participants can learn from those who will bring their art making skills and traditional knowledge to the program.
What does the program offer?
This intensive program will emphasize collaboration, as well as connections to our Stoney Nakoda and Bow Valley neighbours. Participants will have the opportunity to partner with various groups and spaces within the Bow Valley (from Lake Louise to Morley) to cultivate powerful friendships, allies, and healthy partnerships. Participants will also have the opportunity to develop connections to the land rooted in diverse personal and cultural understandings.
Who should apply?
Emerging to professional artists as well as community members who are interested in exploring a new, multidisciplinary avenue into art are encouraged to apply. Traditional makers, musicians, writers, painters, public artists – artists within all disciplines – are welcome.
The program is open to local artists as well as those not from the Bow Valley area, to have access to Banff Centre’s exceptional facilities and staff, as well as develop relationships with this community.
Successful applicants will have a strong interest in ways of knowing, storytelling, and art making. Please note, successful applicants will be responsible for their own transportation within the Bow Valley as they collaborate with others on their project.
Image Gallery
What's Included
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.
Using a credit-based system to dine on campus, our flexible meal plans allow you to select meals according to your own needs during your stay.
The Full Flex meal plan includes $38 credit per day, equivalent to breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Vistas Dining Room.
This program offers opportunities to showcase your work-in-progress in one of our performance venues.
Your program fee includes free access to the swimming pool, climbing gym, and fitness suite as well as discounted rates for classes at the Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation Centre.
Access a wide range of publications, books, music, and films in the Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives, open six days a week.
Enjoy special artist rates for ticketed performances or complimentary access to events.
Enrich your experience and get to know other artists on campus by taking advantage of the activities and support provided by our Participant Resources team.
Fees & Financial Assistance
Application fee: $65
Financial Aid of up to 100% of the total program fee is available.
How to Apply
Personal Statement and Bio
A summary of your goals, how you plan to achieve them, and how this experience will assist you. Describe how you would like to revisit the idea of re-establishing the Cultural Trade Route, including:
- The name of the person or group that you would like to work with in the Bow Valley community (this area reaches from Lake Louise to Morley). If you do not know who you would like to work with, please specify the qualities of the person/group that you are looking to engage with and what you would like to accomplish.
- Explain why you would like to work with who you have listed above, and how they will be included within your creative process.
Adjudication
Participants are selected by impartial adjudicators on the basis of their submitted material. In addition to artistic merit, consideration will be given to the likelihood that the artist's work will benefit from the program. Appropriate cultural protocols will be articulated with selected participants to ensure respectful acknowledgements are followed.
Applicants will be notified of their status as soon as adjudication is complete.
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 the Registrar
For questions on preparing your application, please contact the Office of the Registrar:
