Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Formerly The Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as a non-degree granting post-secondary educational institution in 1978. Banff Centre is a member of the Alberta Rural Development Network. On June 23, 2016, Banff Centre announced a new name: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. History The centre was founded in 1933 by the University of Alberta, with a grant from the U.S.-based Carnegie Foundation. Elizabeth Sterling Haynes, Theodore and Eliot Cohen, Gwillym Edwards, and Gwen Pharis served as the centre's first employees, with Haynes and Cohen teaching approximately 230 students that first summer. Initially only a single course in drama was offered.