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2026 Canadian Arts Summit

Arts Together:
Charting a National Vision for Engagement and Action

April 9-11, 2026 – Banff, AB

Program Overview

The 2026 Canadian Arts Summit invites senior arts leaders from across the country to come together, share insights, and shape a collective vision for the arts and culture in Canada.

Building on the momentum of the 2025 Summit and its Calls to Action, this year’s gathering centres on artist engagement, coordinated advocacy and collective action. Over three days of programming, participants will explore the sector’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including how to support artists at every stage, navigate the impacts of digital technologies, and strengthen the infrastructure and investment needed to sustain our creative future.

Through creative exchange and shared purpose, delegates will shape a national cultural vision and identity that centres artists, reinforces the role of the arts in civic life, deepens cross-sector partnerships, and advances a future where creativity drives community and belonging.

We look forward to collaborating, imagining, and advocating for a shared future for the arts in Canada.

We are pleased to welcome back Vanessa Porteous, who will resume her role as Rapporteur, capturing key moments and offering reflections from the three-day gathering.

Schedule Overview

Below is the preliminary schedule for the 2026 Canadian Arts Summit. Programming is subject to change. The finalized schedule will be shared with delegates closer to the event. All times are local.

 

DAY 1 – Thursday, April 9, 2026

2:00pm Registration Opens
@Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation
3:00pm Early Conversations and Peer Exchange 
@Kinnear Centre: 301, 305, 306, 308
To begin our time together, we invite you to an open gathering designed to spark connection and conversation. This session will include opportunities to share current priorities with your peers at the top of the Summit.
4:00pmWelcome and Opening Remarks
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
Welcome from Elder Alice Kaquitts.
4:30pmKeynote Address: In Conversation with Margaret Atwood
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
A defining voice in literature and global cultural discourse, Atwood will offer an address followed by a talkback session with Summit delegates.
5:45pmPanel Discussion – The Status of the Artist: AI and Artistic Agency
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
This panel explores the evolving status of the artist in Canada, with a focus on how creative production relates to income, rights, and recognition. Emerging technologies bring these questions into sharper relief, potentially reshaping artistic labour, authorship, and intellectual property while raising urgent concerns around protection and fair compensation.In this panel, we grapple with art and AI as part of broader debates about how artists sustain their livelihoods, contribute to cultural innovation, and remain at the centre of policy discussions that shape the future of cultural work.Speakers:

  • Moderator: Philippe Pasquier, Director of the Metacreation Lab for Creative AI, Simon Fraser University
  • Etienne Grenier, Artist-researcher working at the intersection of digital cultures, critical AI studies, and cultural sociology
  • Katrina Ingram, Founder & CEO, Ethically Aligned AI
  • Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC), OCAD University
7:20pmOpening Reception
@Kinnear Centre: 201 203
An opportunity to socialize and connect with fellow attendees.
Refreshments and a host bar will be available for delegates.
8:00pm
to
9:30pm		Optional Artistic Programming: Walter Phillips Gallery
@Glyde Hall Studios: Walter Phillips Gallery
Following the opening reception, delegates are invited to gather at Walter Phillips Gallery for an after-hours viewing of the exhibition currently on view.

DAY 2 – Friday, April 10, 2026

7:00amBreakfast
@Sally Borden Building: Vistas Dining Room
Vistas Dining Room opens for breakfast.
8:30amCoffee & Day 2 Welcome
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
9:00amPanel Discussion – Resourcing for Creativity, Part 1: Building the Future
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
Purpose-designed theatres, galleries, studios, and multi-use arts hubs do far more than host events: they anchor vibrant neighbourhoods, attract and retain talent, fuel billion-dollar creative economies, drive tourism, and give residents a shared sense of identity and belonging.With a focus on the once-in-a-generation pace of city-building in Alberta, this panel gathers sector leaders to discuss how to envision and integrate ambitious arts facilities from the outset. It explores this approach as a proven strategy for catalyzing urban development and strengthening a shared sense of place, building cities that are livable, distinctive, and economically competitive.Speakers:

10:45amPresentation from TRG Arts
@Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
11:00amFacilitated Workshops

Workshop #1 – Led by TRG Arts

@Kinnear Centre: 301

  • TRG Arts CEO, Jill Robinson, and Client Development Executive, Andrew Cotler, will share insights from TRG’s Canadian Arts & Culture Consumer Benchmark. Participants will then consider their own experiences with new audiences; ticketing and visitation frequency models; and how philanthropy is changing (or not). Conversations will focus on programming and curatorial decision-making, highlighting strategies that connect artistic vision with long-term financial planning.
Workshop #2 – Led by Paul Brain and Sachi Morishita
Presented in partnership with National accessArts Centre

@Kinnear Centre: 306

  • Participants will join Paul Brain and Sachi Morishita to explore how disability-led approaches to filmmaking challenge existing cultural structures and advance more authentic, community-responsive representation. 
Workshop #3 – Led by Carla Salter
Presented in partnership with National accessArts Centre

@Kinnear Centre: 308

  • Participants will work with Carla Salter to examine how art grounded in disability and mental health experiences can foster cultural healing and deepen community-wide conversations about inclusion.
    Executive Leadership Workshop
    Presented in partnership with Metcalf Foundation

    @Kinnear Centre: 310

    • Navigating an era of disruption: stability or adaptability? A lightly facilitated conversation to explore mindsets, skills, and strategies needed for complex times.
      12:30pm Lunch
      @Sally Borden Building: Vistas Dining Room
      1:30pmVirtual Tour – The Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      Experience an immersive virtual tour of the Cardiff Miller Art Warehouse, followed by a conversation with artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.
      2:15pmPresentation from PAA Advisory | Conseils
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      2:30pm Panel Discussion – Resourcing for Creativity, Part 2: Funding the Future
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      The arts and culture sector drives billions in economic return and defines our shared identity, yet it remains critically under-capitalised. With federal austerity measures, multiple corporate sponsors withdrawing support, and philanthropic giving lagging, artists and organizations face significant funding gaps.This panel brings together funders, policymakers, and sector leaders to explore resilient capital pathways, from revitalizing corporate partnerships and charitable giving to trailblazing public models like Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts. This discussion seeks to spark ongoing dialogue on how strategic partnerships between philanthropy, business, and government can deliver sustainable investment and secure a vibrant cultural future.Speakers:

      3:45pmBreak
      @Kinnear Centre: Galleria South
      4:00pmPeer-to-Peer Session: Arts, Civic Growth & Funding Futures
      @Kinnear Centre: 301, 305, 306, 308
      6:00pmDelegates Dinner
      @Sally Borden Building: Vistas Dining Room
      7:30pmOptional Artistic Programming
      @Jenny Belzberg Theatre
      Delegates are invited to attend an open rehearsal of ‘I Dream in Wampum,’ featuring a talk back by Artistic Director and choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo of A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, the Clifford E. Lee Choreographer in Residence at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
      Advance RSVP is required. Confirm your participation here.

      DAY 3 – Saturday, April 11, 2026

      7:00amBreakfast
      @Sally Borden Building: Vistas Dining Room
      The Vistas Dining Room opens for breakfast.
      8:45amTalkback Session with the Canada Council for the Arts
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      Canada Council for the Arts clients are invited to join us for breakfast and conversation.  
      10:00amBuffalo Boy’s Moonshot 
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      Adrian Stimson – As only as Buffalo Boy can do, Moonshot will be a performance that reworks JFK’s “We choose to go to the Moon” speech of 1970. Video will accompany Buffalo Boy as they move through time and space, boldly going where no one has gone before, charting a path where art rules the world! We choose this moonshot now, not because we are soft, but because we are hard, because that shot will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
      10:45amPanel Discussion – Future Horizons: A National Vision for the Arts
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      In 2025, the delegation noted, “every generation needs a moonshot” — a bold, collective goal that galvanizes action across sectors and communities. This bold-thinking, participatory panel will challenge the status quo and imagine a future where the arts are recognized as central to our democracy, our communities, and our economy.Generating ideas for delegates to take forward, panelists and participants will explore what it takes to align around a national cultural mission — one that inspires cross-sector collaboration, fuels investment, and ensures that creativity and cultural expression are at the heart of Canada’s shared future.Speakers:

      12:00pmLunch
      @Sally Borden Building: Vistas Dining Room
      1:00pmPeer-to-Peer Session: A National Vision for the Arts
      @Kinnear Centre: 301, 305, 306, 308
      2:45pmSharebacks and Closing Remarks
      @Kinnear Centre: Cenovus Great Hall
      This final session brings delegates together to share reflections on sector-wide alignment and action, as well as key ideas and conversations that shaped the Summit. Vanessa Porteous, our Summit rapporteur, will offer a synthesis of the gathering including shared themes, pressing challenges, and opportunities for collective leadership. A moment to reflect and move forward with our peers and with purpose.
      4:00pmOptional Artistic Programming – Explore Listening Devices
      @Glyde Hall Studios: Outside Walter Phillips Gallery
      Listening Devices is comprised of audio and score-based works in Banff Centre’s Permanent Collection or on long-term loan that are informed by the relationship between sound, listener, and location. Taking place outside of Walter Phillips Gallery, the works in the exhibition are variously intended to be experienced in the woods, amongst the pollinators, and mountainside in Banff. Learn more here.
      6:30pmPresident’s Dinner
      @Kinnear Centre
      Enjoy an evening of dining and networking, hosted by the Banff Centre. The evening will open with a fireside chat between Michelle Chawla, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts, and Francis Bilodeau, Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage. We invite you to join us for a memorable send-off as we reflect on our time together and look forward to future collaborations.
      Dress: Business attire or business casual.
      Organized by

      In Partnership with

      Executive Leadership Partner and Supporting Partner

      Keynote Speaker Partner

      Exclusive Networking Partner

       

      Panel Discussion Partners

      Executive Leadership Supporting Partner

      Supporting Partners

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