The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity permanently laid off hundreds of staff earlier this year to weather the economic storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those tasked with leading the organization into the future are optimistic about its recovery.
CEO Janice Price and chair of the board of governors Adam Waterous said the post-secondary institution has already built a unique business model that puts it in a position to successfully come out on the other side of the public health crisis.
They said the Banff Centre's success over its 87-year history and its position in the community will be the platform from which it is able to recover and succeed into the future.
"We are constantly conscious of our place here in this community, which we have a desire to build a stronger and closer connection with," Price said. "But we are also a national and global institution in many ways and we like to think that and hope that Albertans and Banffites are really proud of that."
Waterous and the board of governors and the entire organization is committed to "build back better" as a result of what has happened because it has responded to this crisis by looking at its strengths and competitive advantages in the marketplace.
"It would be my view that if you look out two years from now, the Banff Centre is going to be a healthier, more relevant institution at that point than it was pre-COVID," he said. "What we are really doing is further polishing the jewel that the Banff Centre already is."
Waterous said the Banff Centre will leverage its past leadership in arts, mountain culture, the environment and Indigenous studies to find success into the future.
"We think we have the ability to be a leading post-secondary institution in all those areas," he said. "What you will hear a lot about is how we are going to continue to develop each one of those further."
He added that there is an opportunity as recovery from the coronavirus progresses to become better integrated with the local community. In its 87-year history, Waterous is the first board chair that is also a Banff resident.
"Perhaps on a historical basis, the Banff Centre has been a little bit, as you you might describe, removed and up on the hill from the community and somewhat closed to the broader community," he said. "We think there is a very big opportunity to make the Banff Centre part of the community and what we mean by that is not just for residents, but the visiting community."
Prior to the pandemic, more than four million people were visiting Banff National Park annually. Waterous said a large percentage of those visitors have not had the opportunity to experience everything the Banff Centre has to offer – but they want that to change.
"What you will see, is more integration into the fabric of the Banff destination," he said.
There are a variety of programs offered through the Banff Centre each year within a range of disciplines and interests. In addition to supporting performing and visual arts, there are many residency and leadership programs, for example.
Those programs, however, are for the most part offered over an extended period of time, requiring those who attend to stay on campus for up to three months.
Waterous said the Banff Centre wants to provide a broader range of those kinds of experiences for visitors that would require a much shorter time commitment.
"Historically, it has been much more of what we would describe as a school format," he said. "I think there is a big opportunity to have a broader outreach."
Price said diversifying the opportunities to learn and participate in a program at the Banff Centre will continue to align with the institution's mission and purpose.
"We want to open it up a little more beyond our post-graduate and semi-professional training for artists, leaders and musicians," she said. "It is a more public facing, welcoming experience to come and do more work.
"We have the facilities and the ability to do it."
It is a unique position to be in, according to Price and Waterous. It is also the basis of an updated five-year strategic plan to replace the 2016-21 vision and mission for the Banff Centre.
While the new document has been approved by the board of governors, it has not yet been publicly unveiled. However, Waterous said it will build upon the unique position of the Banff Centre's success with the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival and Indigenous leadership program, for example.
"By being the only post-secondary institution in a national park, we are also uniquely positioned to be able to provide that kind of thought leadership," he said. "We have a very big opportunity for the Banff Centre to host summits and conferences in those core areas to bring leaders from around the world to discuss those."
Currently, the campus at the Banff Centre has been quiet as a result of travel restrictions due to the pandemic. The loss of programs and attendance due to the crisis saw 280 staff permanently laid off in June, while approximately 100 staff remained on temporary layoff at the time and core group of 120 continued with daily operations and planning for the future.
Price said while activities on campus increase, those who remained on layoff are being called back to work and there is an optimistic energy that the recovery has slowly begun.
Vice-president of operations Michael Code said conference bookings and inquiries for 2022-23 are really positive, while opportunities to welcome groups back in 2021 remains uncertain.
"We see it coming back first regionally, then nationally and then internationally," Code said. "For 2022-23 we have a significant amount of business confirmed and contracted, so that is a very positive sign.
"Our long-term conference clients are all as anxious as we are to reopen ... they cannot wait to come back, and we cannot wait to have them."
His predictions are based upon research conducted by tourism organizations like Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Destination Canada and Business Events Canada.
Last year, the UCP Government cut the Banff Centre's provincial funding as part of the budget. Budget 2019 set out that the Campus Alberta Grant Funding would be cut by five per cent in the 2019-20 school year. That resulted in a 1.7 per cent cut to the $17.8 million it would receive from the grant fund.
However, unlike other post-secondary institutions in Alberta, provincial funding only accounts for 25 per cent Banff Centre's annual budget. The other 75 per cent of its revenues comes from other sources, like fundraising and sponsorships.
"What that does is create what I would describe as a very self-reliant culture and much more nimble operations," Waterous said. "It would be nice to have more government revenue at this time, but overall it is a huge competitive advantage.
"Coming through a disruptive event like COVID ... certainly gives us the opportunity as a nimble organization to be able to draw on a very blank canvas and try to figure out what makes the most sense in being able to respond to what is happening."
The Walter Philips Gallery also reopened to the public in September with an online reservation system. There were also 14 online programs offered from September to December for literary arts, visual arts, music, performing arts, Indigenous arts and Indigenous leadership. In 2021, there will be 20 online and on-campus programs offered, as well bringing back artists and leaders to the campus in small numbers and following all public health guidelines.
The Banff International String Quartet competition and Banff Mountain Book and Film Festival also adapted in 2020 by going digital – offering audiences across the country and around the world an opportunity to take part in a variety of events and screenings.
A major $7.1 million renovation of the Eric Harvie Theatre into the new Jenny Belzberg Theatre was also completed this fall on time and on budget. Price said she is excited to be able to show off the new venue to the community once COVID restrictions allow that to happen.
There were also scheduled renovations to the Sally Borden fitness and recreation facility this fall. Those upgrades were expanded in scope as the restrictions on indoor recreation created the opportunity to do more than was originally planned.
Waterous said he is optimistic about the future of the Banff Centre along with its place in the local community and economy.
"The Banff Centre will clearly be one of the organizations which drives the rebooting of the community," he said. "Certainly when we are looking for green shoots this spring, both in nature and economically, I think the community will be looking to the Banff Centre."
