Arts opportunity

Created by the friends and family of the late artist Barbara Spohr, the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography encourages the development of Canadian contemporary photography by providing financial and creative assistance to a mid-career artist making a compelling contribution to the field. 

This annual award supports one mid-career Canadian artist (Canadian citizen or permanent resident) working in photography to undertake a fully funded residency at the Banff Centre.

Description

During this month-long self-directed residency, the award winner will have

• 24/7 access to the Crich Studio, a Leighton Artist Studio featuring private analogue darkroom facilities.
• access to digital photographic production.
• production support from the photography facilitator at Banff Centre.
• the option of giving a public talk with an associated fee at CARFAC-based rates.

Please note that limited darkroom supplies are available for purchase. The award winner should anticipate bringing supplies as needed for their project.

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

Requirements

Applications are open to Canadian mid-career photo-based artists with a strong exhibition record. 

For the purposes of this program, mid-career is defined as having

• a strong body of work with a minimum of ten exhibitions in a professional context, such as artist-run centres, public art galleries, recognized photo festivals, etc.
• 8 to 15 years of professional arts experience.
• demonstrated commitment to professional practice.

Applicants should demonstrate proficiency with darkroom processes, with an awareness of safety procedures.

The program suits those focused on

• working on a specific project.
• creating new works.
• exploring and researching innovative ideas.

Application Deadline: June 18, 2025
Program Dates: Jan 19, 2026 - Feb 13, 2026

For more information and to apply: https://bit.ly/4ksP5fU

Banff Centre’s 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 Eden Robinson, Nicole Sealey, Vidyan Ravinthiran, and professional guest Stephen Motika (Nightboat Books). 

This flexible program with optional program elements allows writers to choose the amount of support they are looking for. 

This two-week self-directed residency provides writers with individual accommodation and a small private studio for them to focus, reconnect, and re-energize their writing practice. In addition, participants will be able to engage with other writers on the program as well as specialist faculty. 

Since all program elements are optional, participants can customize the residency according to the writing support needed.

Optional elements include:

• talks from faculty Eden Robinson, Nicole Sealey, Vidyan Ravinthiran, and professional guest Stephen Motika.
• one-on-one mentoring sessions with faculty to discuss ideas, experiences, and obstacles.
• Q & A sessions.
• workshops to discuss useful techniques, devices, and aspects.
• public readings.

The program is designed to cater to emerging and established writers with a proven publication record seeking a period of dedicated time to work on a project in any genre.

Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on:

• working on a specific project.
• creating new works.

Participants are provided with individual accommodation and a small private studio to focus on their writing practice.

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

Application Deadline: October 15, 2025
Program Dates: Mar 16, 2026 - Mar 27, 2026

For more information and to apply: https://bit.ly/41zo3vE

This 19-day self-directed residency offers the opportunity to work away from the constraints of everyday life, delve deep into a creative project and take advantage of a community of artisic peers. 

Deep Winter Writers provides opportunities for consultations with exceptional mentors Holly Pester, Divya Victor, and Nasser Hussain and professional guest Joshua Rothes (Sublunary Editions), and optional group sessions that allow writers to explore useful literary tools, aspects, and devices. 

Faculty are on-campus for the first two weeks of the residency. The third week allows residents to dive deeper into their writing and apply the learning from the first two weeks.

This three-week residency has a flexible format that allows participants to choose the amount of programming and support they are looking for. 

Optional elements include:

• thematic talks from specialist faculty and guests.
• one-on-one mentoring sessions with faculty to discuss ideas, experiences and obstacles they may be encountering in their writing across genres.
• Q & A sessions.
• workshops to explore techniques, aspects, and devices writers may find useful in their practice.
• public reading opportunities.

Participants are provided with individual accommodation and a small private studio to focus on their writing practice.

The program is designed to cater to writers in all creative genres. The program is designed for emerging and established writers with a proven publication record seeking a period of dedicated time to work on a project.

Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on:

• working on a specific project.
• creating new works.

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

Application Deadline: August 20, 2025
Program Dates: Jan 12, 2026 - Jan 30, 2026

For more information and to apply: https://bit.ly/43hwfSx

Application Deadline: June 11, 2025
Program Dates Jan 12, 2026 - Feb 13, 2026

Banff Artist in Residence (BAiR) - Winter 2026 is designed for visual artists at any stage of their career to focus on their practice in a supportive learning environment. 

Over five weeks, participants are encouraged to self-direct their research and time, as well as cultivate new directions in their work. The experience of artists in residence is further supported through individual studio visits with faculty, workshops, and lectures. In addition, participants have the opportunity to build community, create connections, and share their work with other artists-in-residence and the public.

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

Participants in this residency will be supported with:

• lectures
• workshops
• peer dialogue
• feedback from experienced faculty members who will be available for both group and one-on-one consultations

Artists are provided with a studio, as well as targeted access to our extensive facilities. This includes:

• access to personal studio spaces equipped for creative work, available 24/7, providing a dedicated environment for artistic expression
• targeted access to shared production facilities and knowledgeable staff who are available to provide technical assistance and support

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 and collaborative groups (of no more than two) 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. 

The program is designed to cater to visual artists at all stages of their artistic careers, providing them with tailored opportunities for professional development and creative growth, including:

• ceramicists
• digital media artists
• painters
• paper artists
• photographers
• print-makers
• sculptors

Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on:

• working on a specific project.
• creating new works.

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

Mountain Writers Intensive is a three-week residency for eight writers working on mountain narratives, environmental journalism, stories of adventure, or projects with an environmental theme. Writers can work in any genre (fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry), and will enjoy dedicated, uninterrupted writing time in a spectacular mountain setting, the communality of a small group of artistic peers and support from renowned faculty.

This program overlaps with the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival where visiting authors, editors, and publishers will offer inspiration.

In the niche genre of mountain literature, the journey of self-exploration and the psychology of extreme endeavours is as much a focus as the physical accomplishments involved. This program will emphasize literary quality and the development of narrative. Writers will be encouraged to meet regularly with faculty and other writing participants to share work and projects for review.

During this program writers will take part in scheduled workshops with faculty and guests to:

• explore and learn the elements of a strong narrative.
• hear topics related to mountain and wilderness writing.
• receive feedback on unfinished work from faculty.
• share best practices and ideas with other participants.

Writers will have access to uninterrupted writing time and a personal studio space.

The program is designed to cater to emerging and established writers in all genres— fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essay, history, biography, and memoir—working on mountain narratives, environmental journalism, stories of adventure, or projects with an environmental theme. 

Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on:

• working on a specific project.
• creating new works.

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

Application Deadline: May 28, 2025
Program Dates: Oct 29, 2025 - Nov 18, 2025

For more information and to apply: bit.ly/4h1Yw2P