Conceived by Albertan trailblazers at the height of the Great Depression, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has remained true to its original mission of cultivating and celebrating the creative spirit for the past 90 years. Long before Banff Centre was founded, Sacred Guardian Buffalo Mountain was a gathering place for people to connect and explore the depths of their visions and creativity. The shoulder of the mountain was a fitting location to lay the ground for what has become one of the most respected centres in the world for arts, culture, creativity, and bringing people together. Today, resting on that same mountain shoulder, Banff Centre offers a unique space for harnessing and celebrating creativity.

Power of Place

At its core, Banff Centre is an educational institution, where artists and leaders hone their craft in collaborative cohorts and are provided space for focused retreat in the unparalleled beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. Arts and leadership directors curate, and teams across the institution support relevant and meaningful programs for small groups that are part creation lab and part sanctuary. Through Indigenous programming and over a dozen other artistic disciplines, artists are challenged to explore and expand their creative potential, inspiring them to conceive and produce powerful work and ideas to share with the world.

“I want to thank every artist, leader, team member, donor, and guest that has supported the advancement of Banff Centre over the past 90 years. I am grateful to have joined this vibrant and supportive community. Together, we will continue to spread the seeds of creativity and grow a more thoughtful, meaningful, and
joyful world.

“We hope to see you at Banff Centre very soon!” -President and CEO, Chris Lorway

In nine decades of nurturing creative thought and expression, Banff Centre has lifted up the careers of over 100,000 artists and leaders at all stages of their growth. Many have been or gone on to be household names, like Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Oscar Peterson, Sarah McLachlan, Rebecca Belmore, and Fred Penner.

Banff Centre’s program and events offerings have continued to evolve over the years. Indigenous leadership programming, as an example, has deep roots at the Centre, recently celebrating its own 50th anniversary. Thousands of Indigenous leaders from Canada and around the world have shared ideas and experiences in the interest of advancing Indigenous empowerment and self-determination against the backdrop of creativity and innovation.

Experiencing Banff Centre

Made possible by an array of world-class facilities, Banff Centre has shared its inspiration with hundreds of thousands of visitors, proudly hosting over 400 events year-round. Included are concerts, film screenings, art exhibits, theatre and opera performances, open studios and world-renowned events like the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and the Banff International String Quartet Competition. In its 90 years, Banff Centre has grown to be a gathering place for visitors near and far to draw inspiration from unparalleled nature and experience the depths of
human imagination.

The Banff Centre experience extends beyond exhibitions and events. On-site accommodations offer nature-surrounded solace and connection to artistic inspiration replete with resident artwork, on-site restaurants serve delicious dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients, and campus facilities include amenities like a gym, pool, access to hiking trails, performance venues, exhibition spaces, and well-appointed meeting spaces. In fact, Banff Centre was recently honoured with the title of “Best in the Bow” by the Rocky Mountain Outlook, claiming multiple accolades in categories relating to food, entertainment, and facilities.

Cultivating joy and community through culture and connection, Banff Centre is proud to offer the nurturing grounds and means that help sprout the seeds of creativity.

Radiating from its deep educational and creative core, Banff Centre is a gathering place to courageously explore wild ideas and new perspectives, elevated above the din of everyday life, pressures, and anxieties. Perhaps at a meeting, a show, a meal, or a multi-day conference, visitors come to Banff Centre from near and far to open their minds and hearts to the limitless potential of human creativity.

If you are an artist or leader of any kind, an appreciator in any way, or a seeker of ideas and creation, you have likely benefited directly or indirectly from Banff Centre supported work. From concept to execution, from the tilling of soil to harvesting of toils, Banff Centre will continue to help shape the careers and creations of some of the nation’s most inspiring artists, leaders, and visionaries.

Erin Brandt Filliter