Southern Alberta

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Literary Journalism 2026

Application Deadline: December 10, 2025
Program Dates: June 1 to June 19, 2026

This three-week residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity encourages the exploration of new ideas in literary journalism (creative non-fiction) and experimentation in writing. Designed to challenge and stimulate, the program aims to inspire creative pieces of non-fiction and to assist the writers in their completion. 

A preeminent space for long-form journalism, this residency emphasizes the strengths of thorough and articulate reporting, distinctive storytelling, and literary devices. 

Work created in this program has been published in many outlets including The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and The Atlantic, and pieces have gone on to win National Magazine and National Newspaper Awards.

Writers will have time to:

  • work on their manuscripts in their individual studios.
  • consult with faculty members Manjula Martin, Dr. Cheryl Thompson, Shawn Micallef, and professional guest Dan Wells (Biblioasis).
  • participate in group discussions. 

Faculty will provide mentorship and one-on-one workshops to discuss:

  • story ideas.
  • craft concepts such as voice and structure.
  • challenges writers may be encountering with their literary journalism.

The faculty will offer mentorship for the first two weeks, with the last week for participants to focus on digging deep into their writing.

Literary Journalism is designed for writers seeking a professional development opportunity in a community of peers with the guidance of an experienced writer/editor, as each participant prepares a long form piece.

Applicants should be experienced professionals, active in the diversified fields of writing, including print or electronic media. This program is open to fiction and non-fiction writers, journalists, freelance critics or curators, artists, and academics, with an emphasis on those who can write for a lay audience with logic, vigour, and charm—and those who have a portfolio to prove it.

This program is run in English and only accepts projects that are being written in English. English is the language of Banff Centre correspondence.

Financial aid is available.

For more information and to apply.

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This residency gives writers of non-fiction time to work on their manuscripts, have individual consultations with faculty, and participate in workshops.

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Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Literary Journalism 2026
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This residency gives writers of non-fiction time to work on their manuscripts, have individual consultations with faculty, and participate in workshops.

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Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Literary Jou
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This residency gives writers of non-fiction time to work on their manuscripts, have individual consultations with faculty, and participate in workshops.

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Banff Centre: Visual Arts - Nomadisms

Application Deadline: November 19, 2025
Program Dates: May 25 to June 26, 2026

Nomadism is conceived as a mode of existence and territorialization grounded in practices of regulated mobility. This residency invites participants to engage with the theme of nomadism as both a critical and aesthetic framework. Exploring experiences and relations such as itineraries of humans and non-humans, trajectories of circulation, spatial resistances, and alternative cartographies, nomadism will be approached as a site of inquiry and a form of sensitive and formal attentiveness to the earth. This approach will guide the intentions, conditions, and gestures of art making and artistic collaboration.

Visual Arts residencies at Banff Centre are structured programs of faculty-led activity and mentorship, supporting project-based studio practice.

This program encourages: 

  • the development of conceptual thought through faculty talks and studio visits
  • the development of technical skills through studio-based experimentation and learning
  • discussion-based programs and workshops to support professional development
  • cross-cultural engagement with international faculty and participants
  • peer-to-peer engagement to foster a professional community.

Studio-based work is further supported by faculty studio visits, lectures, and workshops, fostering a valuable community of learning. Artists are assigned individual studios with access to shared production facilities. Knowledgeable staff are available to provide technical assistance.

Please take note of the program itinerary when planning your project proposal. 

Facility access is based on availability of facilitators and priority goes to those requesting access in their initial applications. 

This residency is for individual artists or duos (no more than two collaborators) who have: 

  • completed formal training in visual arts at the post-secondary level, or
  • equivalent experience and recognition from their peers acquired through traditional knowledge and practices.

Artists working in, but not limited to, practices in:

  • ceramics
  • digital media
  • painting and drawing
  • printmaking
  • papermaking
  • performance art
  • photography and video
  • sculpture and installation 

are invited to apply. 

Priority will be given to artists who have not attended a Visual Arts residency at Banff Centre in the past three years. 

Please note that children are not permitted in visual arts studios or production areas.

This program is designed for participation over the entire program period. Variable dates will not be considered.

Financial aid is available.

For more information and to apply.

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Engaging with ideas of nomadic movement and imaginaries, this visual arts residency supports the development of critical thought through material practice.

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Banff Centre: Visual Arts - Nomadisms
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Engaging with ideas of nomadic movement and imaginaries, this visual arts residency supports the development of critical thought through material practice.

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Banff Centre: Visual Arts - Nomadisms
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Engaging with ideas of nomadic movement and imaginaries, this visual arts residency supports the development of critical thought through material practice.

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Late Spring Writers Residency 2026

Application Deadline November 05, 2025
Program Dates Apr 13, 2026 - Apr 24, 2026

Banff Centre’s Late Spring Writers Residency provides participants with the time and space for creative exploration away from the constraints of everyday life. Writers will be able to delve deep into their creative project, meet with a community of artistic peers, and take advantage of workshops and mentorship opportunities with faculty Jessica Westhead, Philip Terry, Sawako Nakayasu, and professional guest Anna Moschovakis (Ugly Duckling Presse). 

Festive Foothills Art Sale + Sneak Peek

Join us at the Leighton Art Centre for our Festive Foothills Art Sale, a holiday art sale featuring unique, handcrafted gifts by over 70 Alberta artists! From November 8 to December 20, explore original paintings, pottery, glass, textiles, jewellery, and more, all in a stunning foothills setting. Want early access? Don’t miss our Sneak Peek Event on November 7 (3–6 PM) with live music, warm drinks, a raffle filled with local goodies, and the chance to shop before the crowds. Admission by donation; bring a food bank item to support the Okotoks Food Bank!

 

Summer Opera 2026 - For Singers, Stage Managers, Répétiteurs, Stage Directors, Composers, and Conductors

Application Deadline November 19, 2025

Program Dates Jun 29, 2026 - Jul 25, 2026

Overview  

This program offers skill building and practical experience for singers, stage managers, répétiteurs, stage directors, composers, and conductors. Participants will workshop new operas at various stages of development, collaborating directly with composers, librettists, and directors in a dynamic creative process.

The Looking Glass exhibition in Medicine Hat

From October 11 until December 6, 2025, The Looking Glass will be on display at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat. This is just one stop on the exhibition's three-year tour of the province with the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) Travelling Exhibition (TREX) program

The Looking Glass is a collection of 17 pieces by 12 artists, curated from the AFA  Permanent Collection. Each piece contains a visualization of reflection, manifesting in different ways. Photographs of common reflective materials prompt contemplation on the relationships we have with the things that surround us, and the impact we have on each other. Distorted self-portraiture forces us to confront conflicting versions of self that exist. Depictions of looking glasses raise questions about credibility and deception. Although common tools for observing and making sense of the world, mirrors are also deeply associated with trickery and illusion. Considering the exhibition, viewers are invited to ponder reflection as a tool for introspection and a method of situating oneself within reality, or, more accurately, one’s perception of reality. 

Featured Artists: James Agrell Smith, Kyle Beal, Stefanja Dumanowski, Cynthia Fuhrer, Christian Grandjean, Tanya Harnett, Gene Leavitt, C.S. McConnell, Paul Murasko, Toni Onley, Felix Plawski and Jacques Rioux

Curated by Sierra Zukowski, TREX Southeast

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Travelling exhibition The Looking Glass — curated from the AFA collection and on tour with TREX — is on display at the Esplanade until December 6.

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The Looking Glass exhibition in Medicine Hat
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Travelling exhibition The Looking Glass — curated from the AFA collection and on tour with TREX — is on display at the Esplanade until December 6.

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The Looking Glass exhibition in Medicine Hat
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Travelling exhibition The Looking Glass — curated from the AFA collection and on tour with TREX — is on display at the Esplanade until December 6.

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Apply Now | Fuse: Music Residency 2026

Interdisciplinary Residency for Musicians

Application Deadline November 19, 2025

Program Dates Apr 13, 2026 - May 02, 2026

Overview

Fuse is a residency for the curious, who want to expand their artistic practice. Supported by collaborative mentors and an environment that encourages creative play, this program encourages musicians and ensembles to experiment, create, research, and grow in Banff Centre’s unrivalled mountain environment.  

Apply Now | Directors Intensive 2026

Theatre Arts Intensive Residency for Directors

Application Deadline November 12, 2025

Program Dates Apr 13, 2026 - Apr 18, 2026

Overview  

This one-week intensive for emerging directors, led by acclaimed director Weyni Mengesha, offers a transformative opportunity to deepen artistic practice in a focused, collaborative environment. Participants will engage in masterclasses, scene study, and group discussion, exploring vision, leadership, and process. 

Apply Now | Independent Studio Residency: Performing Arts & Music 26/27

Independent Residencies in dance studios, rehearsal spaces or music studios

Application Deadline October 29, 2025

Program Dates Apr 06, 2026 - Mar 26, 2027

Program Durations: Residencies can be 1 or 2 weeks in length. Longer residencies may be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to availability

Proposed dates must start on a Monday and end on a Friday, with arrival on the Sunday before and departure on the Saturday after.