The Banff Centre’s thematic residency On Other Archives invites artists to engage archives as unstable terrains—where memory, absence, and inherited narratives are contested and reimagined.
11 April 2026
Open Call:
Operating within Banff Centre’s broader Visual Arts residency framework, On Other Archives is a thematic programme that foregrounds the archive as a critical and creative tool. Rather than treating archives as fixed repositories, the residency encourages artists to approach them as dynamic “technologies” through which histories are constructed, obscured, and re-narrated.
Participants are invited to work across institutional, personal, speculative, or fictional archives, engaging questions of lineage, oral histories, cultural inheritance, and memory. Themes extend to micro-histories, amnesia, and re-memory—opening space for practices that challenge dominant historical narratives and propose alternative modes of remembering.
As with Banff’s wider programmes, the emphasis remains on process: research-led, studio-based inquiry supported by dialogue, critique, and experimentation.
Institutional Context:
Founded in 1933, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a leading residency-based institution in Canada, known for its emphasis on interdisciplinary exchange and research-driven practice. Its Visual Arts programmes function less as retreats than as structured environments of production and critique—bringing together artists, curators, and researchers within a pedagogical model that blends studio work with mentorship and public discourse. Within this framework, thematic residencies like On Other Archives reflect an institutional investment in contemporary concerns around historiography, memory politics, and decolonial methodologies.
Eligibility and Criteria:
The residency is open to individual artists or duos (maximum 2 collaborators) working across disciplines, including, but not limited to, ceramics, digital media, painting, photography, sculpture, and installation.
Applicants should have either formal post-secondary training in the visual arts or equivalent professional experience. Priority is given to artists who have not participated in a Banff Visual Arts residency within the past three years.
Applicants must be 18 years or older, and both domestic and international applications are accepted. The programme encourages applications from artists across diverse backgrounds, with particular attention to those from underrepresented communities.
Evaluation Process:
Applications are assessed through a competitive selection process that evaluates artistic merit, conceptual clarity, and the feasibility of proposed projects within the residency’s facilities and timeframe.
Technical feasibility is also reviewed by Banff Centre staff, ensuring that proposed works align with available resources and support structures. Selection ultimately prioritises projects that demonstrate a strong engagement with the archive as both subject and method, as well as the applicant’s potential to contribute to the collective learning environment.
Practical Information:
The residency runs from 2 November to 4 December 2026, with an application deadline of 6 May 2026.
Participants are provided with individual studio spaces, access to shared production facilities, and opportunities for mentorship through faculty-led workshops, studio visits, and discussions. Artists may also request access to the Banff Centre Archives and the Whyte Museum archives, integrating archival research directly into their practice. While programme fees apply, Banff Centre offers scholarships that significantly offset tuition and living costs, with additional support available for Indigenous participants.
Applications and Queries:
Applications are submitted online via Banff Centre’s admissions platform, with all materials—including project proposals and portfolios—uploaded digitally.
Applicants are encouraged to clearly articulate how their project engages archival material, particularly if requesting access to specific collections. Further details, including programme requirements and financial aid options, are available on the Banff Centre website.
