Welcome to the winter edition of Inspired.

Mary Hofstetter

As we begin a new year and a new decade, The Banff Centre’s sights are firmly focused on the future. The Centre’s Strategic Plan “Toward 2020” commits us to adding to Canada’s cultural repertoire by supporting new creative works, by developing multi-dimensional artists for the national and international stage, and by adding to the global knowledge base in arts and culture. The Banff Centre will be nationally and internationally renowned for leadership in arts, culture, leadership, and the ideas that surround creativity.

The new works and research profiled in this issue of Inspired illustrate how the Centre works to fulfil that mandate on a daily basis.

From John Adams’s String Quartet, to Dancetheatre David Earle’s Odyssey, to the six new operas workshopped at Banff this summer, performances commissioned and/or supported by the Centre inspire audiences across Canada and beyond. At the same time, working with valued partners such as Nexen Inc. and iCORE, the Centre continues to undertake innovative research in areas as diverse as Aboriginal leadership and music performance over networks.

While our programs are focused on building Canada’s cultural repertoire, anyone who has visited the Centre recently will know that our energies are also directed to building in a much more literal sense. This July, we will celebrate the opening of the Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation, a magnificent learning facility at the heart of the Centre’s revitalized campus.

As we embark on new decade, The Banff Centre will continue to fulfill our role as a creative leader in arts and culture, both in Canada and on the world stage. We are able to do this thanks to funding from the governments of Alberta and Canada, as well as the generous support of our many donors. Please join me in thanking them, and all of The Banff Centre’s donors, for their belief in the enduring force of creativity, and The Banff Centre’s leadership in its inspiration.

Mary E. Hofstetter
President and CEO