Banff Centre expands scholarships for Indigenous students in all programs

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is expanding its commitment to attract Indigenous students.

The Alberta-based facility, often referred to simply as the Banff Centre, announced earlier this month that it will now be supporting all Indigenous students in all of its arts programs.

It will offer scholarships to all Indigenous students that will cover 100 per cent of the costs for their tuition, accommodations and meals while studying at the centre.

In previous years, only Indigenous students that were in the centre’s five Indigenous arts programs were eligible for the scholarships.

Janine Windolph, the Banff Centre’s director of Indigenous Arts, said the facility usually has about 50 Indigenous students in its Indigenous arts programs.

With about 50 different programs offered at the facility, she anticipates those Indigenous students who will benefit from the scholarships now will be between 80-100.

“The goal that now that we’re implementing it across multiple disciplines, that would encourage more engagement and also to really reinforce Banff Centre’s commitment to the TRC calls to action and Indigenous artists and having them have the opportunity to benefit from all mediums and disciplines that we offer here,” Windolph said.

Windolph, a member of Waswanipi Cree Nation in Quebec, has worked at the Banff Centre for five years now. She’s also a filmmaker, storyteller and educator.

She said she has been advocating for a few years to have the centre’s scholarships expanded to all Indigenous students.

Windolph said Chris Lorway, who was appointed the Banff Centre’s CEO and president in April of 2023, was supportive of her idea believing it was a positive step forward to having a more culturally vibrant campus.

“It was a commitment to use the funding that we have to ensure that we’re giving priority to Indigenous candidates and participants,” Windolph said.

Windolph added it wasn’t just herself that was pushing for additional scholarships and getting Lorway to agree.

“It was wanted across the board,” she said. “I’m just very vocal when I can see a benefit. And I’m grateful our president not only understood but committed to doing that.”

The one thing that the scholarship does not cover is the travel costs related to students getting to and from the centre. They are responsible for their own travel expenses.

Windolph is pleased to see Banff Centre increase the funding for its Indigenous students.

“We’ve always had 100 per cent scholarships,” she said. “But it was really important that it become more of a larger commitment from the institution. And that was me more advocating as an artist because I had seen the quality of work that each of the directors have been putting into their programs and how they have all taken commitment to engage Indigenous faculty and community.

“I felt because they are doing that work it also created that space for Indigenous people. So, I think we are all together as an institution. We really want a culturally vibrant campus. Any way we can reinforce that and work together is really important.”

The Banff Centre offers five Indigenous arts programs a year through its literary arts, visual arts, music, dance and theatre departments.

But in total the centre offers about 50 programs.

Windolph believes many Indigenous students would not attend the Banff Centre if it wasn’t for the available scholarships.

“As an Indigenous artist myself, I know that often living an artist’s lifestyle can be hard to invest in your professional development,” she said. “So, this opportunity gives them that chance. It would be challenging to do it on their own without external support from funders or their bands or their own practice.”

A couple of Banff Centre’s featured programs are Kapishkum: Métis Gathering and Aknumustiǂis: Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons 2025.

Kapishkum: Métis Gathering is a five-week hybrid residency program running from early September until early October.

The program will engage a dozen visual artists whose artistic practice includes environmental sustainability, land-based themes, Indigenous narratives of the land and/or use of natural materials.

Aknumustiǂis: Ecological Engagement Through the Seasons 2025 is also a five-week program, starting in early June and continuing until early July.

The program fosters the exchange of knowledge and ideas among Métis artists. It also encourages participants to create work that embodies the diverse and complex nature of Métis culture while addressing contemporary Métis-specific issues.

Details on all of the centre’s programs, including registration deadlines, is available at https://www.banffcentre.ca/