Public Programs 20062008 | 2007 | 2006 |
Thursday, November 2 – Saturday, November 25, 2006
Domestic Multiplex
Curator: Joseph del Pesco
The Domestic Multiplex series brings video art from around the world to the homes of local residents. Home-screening visits are made by appointment and are accompanied by the program curator, Joseph del Pesco.
The video program "Heroes & Amateurs" being presented this November includes four semi-narrative artist videos. In the program artist Guy Ben Ner reinvents the famous Melville novel Moby Dick by tracing the storyline in a low-tech and often humorous form in the artist's kitchen in Israel. In The Forbidden Zone Harrell Fletcher & Chris Johanson work with David Jarvey, a developmentally disabled adult, who identifies with a character on Star Trek. Althea Thauberger's video Northern is a single, continuous shot of a clear cut section of forest populated by a number of tree-planters who mysteriously awaken. For Long Beach, Led Zep Kevin Schmidt powers up a marshall electric-guitar amplifier via a portable generator and blasts Stairway to Heaven to a backdrop of crashing waves. The program is limited to 10 visits. Screenings by appointment, call 403.762.6680 or email joseph_delpesco@banffcentre.ca to reserve.
Image credits: Althea Thauberger, Northern (2005); Guy Ben Ner, Moby Dick (2000), Courtesy of Postmasters Gallery, NY; Harrell Fletcher, Chris Johanson, David Jarvey, Elizabeth Mexer, Forbidden Zone (2000); Kevin Schmidt, Long Beach, Led Zep (2002), Courtesy Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver
Thursday, November 2, 2006, 2 p.m., JPL 204
Olaf Nicolai Artist Talk
Based in Berlin, artist Olaf Nicolai’s artwork employs the mechanisms and sensibility of pop culture and graphic design. Often resulting in large-scale, outdoor, ground paintings and other public installations, Olaf's multidisciplinary practice involves transforming a site to catalyze social engagement. Olaf has exhibited internationally including The Sydney, Venice, and Gwangju Biennales. His publication Bubblegum: a Street Surfing Painting was included in the Conceptual Comics exhibition at the Walter Phillips Gallery.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1 - 8:30 p.m., Max Bell Auditorium, The Banff Centre
Conceptual Art in Canada Colloquium
Join us for an afternoon of stimulating discussion on conceptual art at the Walter Phillips Gallery's upcoming Colloquium. Conceptual Art in Canada presents talks by three generations of conceptual artists and complements The Future of Idea Art Visual Arts residency. The day will feature talks by Ian Carr-Harris, Micah Lexier, Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov. Curators Catherine Crowston and Barbara Fischer will also speak on their exhibition research for CONCEPTUALISM: A Canadian History.
If you are interested in bringing your class or a group to the colloquium, please call or email Charlene McNichol at 403-762-6377 or charlene_mcnichol@banffcentre.ca
Over the past decade there has been a stream in contemporary art related to conceptualism. One aspect is retrospective, as institutions look back at the meaning and influence of conceptual art since the 1960s in numerous exhibitions internationally such as L’Art conceptual, une perspective (Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1989), Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, 1950s–1980s (Queens Museum of Art, 1999), Live in Your Head (Whitechapel, 2000) as well as books such as Lucy Lippard’s Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972 (1997). Simultaneously there has been a wide and prolific reinvestigation of conceptual art practices by a new generation of contemporary artists.
Conceptual Art in Canada Agenda (25kb pdf)
For more information contact the Gallery at 1.403.762.6281
Reel Time Film Series
October, 2006 to May, 2007, The first Monday of each month, 7p.m., The Lux, $11
The Reel Time film series is intended to foster an appreciation for, and provide access to, alternative cinema in the Bow Valley. Presented by the Walter Phillips Gallery and Film Circuit, an initiative of the Toronto International Film Festival Group, Reel Time raises funds to benefit the WPG and local non-profit organizations. Apply to become a non-profit partner download PDF Application.
The fall Reel Time series is now underway featuring three fabulous films.
- October 2, Wah-Wah
- November 6, Half Nelson
- December 4, Little Miss Sunshine
For tickets visit or call The Banff Centre Box Office at 402.762.6301
Thursday, September 28, 7 p.m., JPL 204
Artists' Talks - Renée Cox and Terrance Houle
Warming up to the opening reception of World Upside Down, two visiting artists in the exhibition present artist talks.
Renée Cox was born in Colgate, Jamaica and attended Syracuse University and the School of Visual Arts and lives and works in New York. A photo-based mixed-media artist, Renée has used her own body, both nude and clothed, to celebrate black womanhood and criticize a society she often views as racist and sexist. Her work was included at the Venice Biennial and exhibited, with controversy, at the Brooklyn Art Museum, among others.
Terrance Houle is a member of the Blood Tribe and his interdisciplinary practice often explores Aboriginal content. Terrance attended the Alberta College of Art + Design in 1995. His work has been shown in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, and internationally in Australia and England. His film and video work has been included in several film festivals and his installation and performance projects have been exhibited internationally.
August 2 to September 3
Forest Walk/House Fire
Forest Walk/House Fire presents two works by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller who took the Venice Biennale by storm in 2001. Both works employ the duo’s innovative use of binaural sound technology. This technique creates the sense that you've entered the artist's intimate space. It blurs the lines between the listener's real time with the events described on the recording, creating an exciting yet disorienting experience. Come experience the art!
July 12 to August 13, Wednesday through Sunday
Noon – 5 p.m., WPG, Donations Accepted
Tea in the Butterfly Garden
Experience a living art work with Tea in the Butterfly Garden. Created by Mi’Kmaq artist Mike MacDonald, the Butterfly Garden creates a small ecosystem of carefully selected native alpine plants that nurture butterflies. Enjoy a cup of tea made from plants found in the garden in handmade cups crafted by resident artists.
Saturday, August 12, 10 a.m. - noon
Garden Walking Tour
Tour six of Banff's most interesting gardens on this guided walking tour. Starting in Mike MacDonald’s Butterfly Garden at the Walter Philips Gallery, The Banff Centre the walk will proceed to four residential gardens in down town Banff. We will conclude at Bison Courtyard and tour through the innovative architectural and landscape design representing three different plant communities: monetane, sub-alpine and alpine. For more information call the Walter Phillips Gallery at 762-6281.
Thursday, July 20, 7 p.m., WPG
Native Plants with Narcisse Blood and Cynthia Chambers
When thinking about the importance of native plants and their role in traditional culture, you must first stop to think about the land and place. This 1.5 hour talk will begin with a screening of Sacred Land, which attempts to capture Blackfoot stories as told by community elders. The film will provide some background about the importance of the land to the Blackfoot people setting the stage for discussion about the plants that the land nourishes.
Thursday, June 22, 7 p.m., WPG
Curator’s Talk – Christina Ritchie
Christina Ritchie is the director/curator at Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery and is in Banff as part of the Babel, Babble, Rabble Visual Arts Residency. Before accepting the position in Vancouver, Ritchie was assistant curator of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. There she organized exhibitions by Ron Terada, General Idea, Kelly Mark and Max Dean among many others.
Thursday May 4, June 1, June 15, 7 p.m., WPG
Comic Craze Jam
Join comic artists Rupert Bottenberg and Billy Mavreas for lively evenings of collaborative comic making, where each artist draws a panel and hands it off to another to continue, winding curious twists into the storyline.
Saturday, June 3, Calgary
The School of Panamerican Unrest
The School of Panamerican Unrest (SPU) is an artist-led, not-for-profit public art project that is traveling from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina between May 9 and September 15, making 30 stops along the way. 
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