Banff Centre

The Banff Centre, formerly known as The Banff Centre for Continuing Education, is an arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference complex located in Banff, Alberta. The Banff Centre is part of Alberta's post-secondary educational system, and offers programs in the performing and fine arts, and leadership training.

The Banff Centre was founded in 1933 by the University of Alberta as an experimental theatre school and became known as the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1935. By 1936, music became an important part of the program and remains so today. The Banff International String Quartet Competition was established in 1983 and the Banff Festival of the Arts, established in 1971, has seen several Canadian premieres including Michael Daugherty's opera Jackie O, John Metcalf's Kafka's Chimp and Jonathan Dove's Siren Song. In 1947 the centre moved from the town of Banff to its present location on Tunnel Mountain in Banff National Park. Although the centre operates year round, its summer school is Canada's oldest major summer school of the arts. During Metcalf's period as artistic director of the department of music theatre in Banff, he workshopped a number of operas, including his own Tornrak, and in recent years the Centre has supported the creation of a number of new Canadian operas including Filumena, and Frobisher

In addition to its arts programming, conferences were introduced in 1953 and management programs in 1954. In 2003, it became host to the Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery. In December 2008, the name was officially changed to "The Banff Centre." The Centre has full autonomy as a non-degree-granting educational institution under the governance of an appointed board.