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Program Information
Amber Müller St. Thomas Spring BAiR 2023. Photo by Rita Taylor.
Overview
The Banff Artist in Residence program is designed for visual artists 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 guest faculty and dialogue amongst peers.
The program encourages experimentation and risk-taking via access to shared production facilities and knowledgeable staff who are available to provide technical support and assistance.
What does the program offer?
The time and space to delve deeply into your practice while away from the constraints of everyday life. Participants are provided with a studio, accessible 24 hours a day, as well as targeted access to our extensive facilities. Facility access is based on availability of facilitators, and priority access is given to those requesting their use in their initial application.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to build connections, create networks, and share your work with other artists in residence and the public.
Who should apply?
This residency is for visual artists who have completed formal education or training at the post-secondary level, or who have equivalent experience and recognition from their peers. Priority will be given to applicants who have not attended a Visual Arts residency at Banff Centre with the last year.
This program is designed for participation over the entire program period. Variable dates will not be considered. Collaborative duos are welcome to apply. Groups larger than two people will not be considered.
Banff Centre invites applicants from anywhere in the world, and artists of all ages (18+), backgrounds, gender identities, and expressions.
Visual Arts: Banff Artist in Residence - Spring 2024 is generously supported by:
Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Outstanding Artist Program Endowment
Faculty
Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell
Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell
Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell share a collaborative maximalist art and life practice that includes art production, exhibition, and activism.
Since 2020 they have been developing and initiating a land-based sustainable artist residency called FAR –Feminist Art Residency on a farm in rural Ontario. From 2010-2020 they operated the FAG Feminist Art Gallery in Toronto Canada.
In 2019 Logue and Mitchell presented Killjoy's Kastle: A Lesbian Feminist Haunted House in Philadelphia. This epic installation/performance includes over 100 artists and is a nightmarish vision of feminist terror where visitors are encouraged to dialogue about contemporary queer politics. They also collaborate on video installations that put radical feminist texts in conversation with contemporary queer theory using puppets, cats and papier-mache tactics.
Mitchell works as an Associate Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University and Logue is currently the Development Director at Vtape.
Faculty
Rita McKeough
Rita McKeough is an installation and performance artist based in Mohkinstsis/ Calgary, Treaty 7 territory in Alberta. Her work incorporates audio, electronics, and mechanical performing objects. She uses interactive technologies to represent complex interspecies relationships and to create links between her installations and sound and music practices.
McKeough is a drummer and has had the privilege to play with some amazing musicians in bands including The Permuters, Sit Com, Mode d’emploi, almost Even, Demi Monde, simian Crease, confidence Band, Books all over the Bed and Sleepy Panther.
McKeough consistently works from a feminist perspective. Her recent work focuses on the environmental impacts of oil production and demonstrates her desire to use sound to create a rhythmic voice of agency and empathy to articulate forces of resistance in the natural world.
McKeough’s work has been featured in Radio Rethink: Art Sound and Transmission (Banff Centre for the Arts, 1994), and Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women (YYZ Books, 2004). Rita McKeough: Works (Emmedia, Truck Gallery and MST performative art festival, 2018).
Rita insists that she has been fortunate to have the support and assistance of her friends and community to produce her work and offers love and respect to everyone who has helped her.
Faculty
What's Included
Single Room
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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.
Full Flex Meal Plan
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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. Banff Centre can accommodate most dietary requests.
The Full Flex meal plan is calculated at $70 credit per day, equivalent to breakfast, lunch and dinner at our Buffet service.
Studios & Facilities
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Create in one of our specialized studios and utilize shared production facilities in printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, photography, digital media, and more (subject to additional fees)
Facility access is based on availability of facilitators, and priority access is given to those requesting their use in their initial application.
Collaborative groups share studio space.
Showcase Your Work
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This program offers opportunities to showcase your work.
Gym Membership
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Your program fee includes free access to the climbing gym and fitness suite as well as discounted rates for classes at the Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation Centre.
Participant Resources
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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.
Box Office Discounts
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Enjoy special artist rates for ticketed performances or complimentary access to events.
Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives
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The Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives - Current Services
The Library is delighted to support Banff Centre Participants, Artists, and Faculty with the following services:
- Open hours: 9:30 am to 1 pm, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
- Access to collections, including program relevant books, scores, artists’ books, recordings, periodicals, and object library.
- Library accounts for borrowing materials.
- Digital Library, on campus and remote access.
- Library research assistance, by appointment.
- Archives research, by appointment only.
Please email library@banffcentre.ca or archives@banffcentre.ca for more information or assistance.
Fees & Financial Assistance
Application fee: $65 for individuals or groups ($35 for applicants who identify as Indigenous).
Application Fees are non-refundable.
Individual group members must pay an additional registration fee of $35 on acceptance.
*Scholarship of 100% is available and will be applied to cover tuition, and 50% is available to offset meals and accommodation costs.
If you would like to be considered, please complete the Financial Aid section when uploading your supporting materials.
Banff Centre will issue official tax receipts for eligible tuition fees and financial assistance and awards as required by the Income Tax Act. You will receive a T2202 (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) for eligible tuition fees paid and a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income) for applicable financial assistance and awards.
Help fund your experience at Banff Centre. View a compiled list of national and international opportunities here.
How to Apply
Learn more about the steps to Complete Your Application.
Note for Collectives: A group leader must complete a single application and upload supporting materials on behalf of the whole group. Visual support materials should be provided for the collective; individual resumes and bios should be provided for each member. Groups no larger than two people will be considered for this program.
Cover Letter
A one-page cover letter explaining why you are interested in this program and what you hope to achieve by attending it.
Resume
A one-page resume describing academic, artistic, professional, and other relevant experience.
Detailed Project Proposal and Timeline
In 500 words, describe the conceptual framework of your proposed project, your weekly execution plan, details of the mediums you propose to use and your level of knowledge in the processes required, and outline any specific technical or support requirements.
Resource Request
Outline all studio, equipment, software, facility, or staff support required using the forms in our SlideRoom tool. Final resource allocation is at the discretion of the department.
Portfolio
Provide 10 samples of your artistic work. Curators and researchers must submit three samples of written work. File sizes and specifications are available in our SlideRoom upload tool.
Financial Assistance
Be sure to complete the Financial Aid question in SlideRoom to be eligible for financial assistance.
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 and career will benefit from the program. Project feasibility and capacity of Banff Centre are also considered. Banff Centre’s values are reflected in program development and delivery.
Applicants will be notified as soon as adjudication is complete.
International Applicants
Banff Centre welcomes domestic and international applicants for this program. Please note, Banff Centre programs do not meet Canadian Student Visa eligibility requirements, you must obtain a Visitor Visa to enter Canada. Accepted individuals are responsible for identifying and complying with the immigration requirements to enter Canada as a visitor from their country of origin. Current wait times to receive a visa are much longer than normal, so applicants who require a Visitor Visa should check the current expected processing times prior to applying.
Eligibility
Applicants must be ages 18+ at the time of the program start date.
Disclaimer
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 Admissions
For questions on preparing your application, please contact Admissions:
Toll Free Number (Canada + USA)
1.800.565.9989
Phone
403.762.6180