Transcontinental Perspectives: ARLIS/NA in the Canadian Rockies. Promotional presentation for the 34th Annual Conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America, May 5-9, 2006. Banff, Alberta, Canada. Program Co-Chairs Jill Patrick, Ontario College of Art & Design and Marilyn Nasserden, University of Calgary.
9. 9
There is evidence of human
occupation in the Bow
Valley from as early as
11,000 BC.
Cree, Kootenay, Stoney, and
Plains Blackfoot have lived
here for centuries.
Banff – The Early Years
10. 10
Banff – The Early Days
The year was 1883…
Canada’s first
transcontinental railroad
accelerated western
expansion.
Railway workers
discovered some hot
springs above what is
now the Town of Banff.
Tourism potential
recognized
In 1885, designated as
Canada’s first national
park.
Banff – The Early Years
12. 12
Banff – The Early Days Banff – The Early Years
Banff has long been a source
of inspiration for artists of all
disciplines.
Group of Seven members and
many local artists recorded the
spectacular scenery
18. 18
The Banff Centre
Began in 1933
Presents events
year-round in:
• visual arts
• music
• dance
• opera
• theatre
• films and
• lectures.
Attractions
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Walter Phillips Gallery
Known for a contemporary
art program
Maintains a permanent
collection and organizes
nine shows of art, video
screenings, lectures and
performances every year
Attractions
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Programming
Our conference theme is
“Transcontinental Perspectives:
ARLIS/NA in the Canadian Rockies”
Guidelines for program submissions can be found
on the conference website:
http://www.arliscanada.ca/banff2006
The deadline for program submissions is May 14th
.
Our programming team
– led by Marilyn Nasserden and Jill Patrick –
is eager to develop a highly relevant and
comprehensive program for this conference.
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Banff Conference Website
James Rout, our conference webmaster,
is pleased to announce that the Banff
Conference Website is now on-line:
http://www.arliscanada.ca/banff2006
If you have not yet obtained a Houston
conference evaluation form, they can be
downloaded directly from the Houston
Conference Website at:
http://www.arlis-
txmx.org/arlisna2005/evaluation.php
Houston Conference Evaluation
36. 36
Photographs in this presentation used courtesy of:
James Rout
Kathy Zimon
The Banff Centre
The Banff Cave and Basin
Canadian Pacific Archives
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Jonathan Ley
The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies
Douglas Leighton
The Banff-Lake Louise Tourism Bureau
Sulphur Mountain Gondola
The Luxton Museum
Banff Park Museum
David and Shannon Berns
Calgary Downtown Association
City of Calgary
Twelve-Foot Hedgehog Productions
On behalf of the ARLIS/NW and ARLIS Canada chapters, we invite you to attend the next ARLIS/NA conference to be held in Banff, Alberta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful locations on earth.
The conference dates are May 5 to 9, 2006.
The Conference Theme is Transcontinental Perspectives.
Appropriately, the conference image is an adaptation of a 1936 Canadian Pacific Railway poster by graphic artist, James Crockart.
Look for the postcard of this image that we are distributing here in Houston as a reminder.
Banff is located within Banff National Park, just north of the state of Montana, and 80 miles west of Calgary.
Calgary International Airport, into which you will be flying, is Canada’s third busiest
Direct flights are available from most US cities.
To give you an idea of distances, my flight from Calgary to Houston took 4 hours, non-stop.
There is regular bus and shuttle service to Banff from the Airport.
A popular saying in Southern Alberta is “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!” The average temperature in May is a daytime high of 61….although it varies greatly.
When you see this distinctive Chinook cloud arch, you know warm weather is on the way.
The term "chinook« by the way is derived from the name of a First Nations tribe that lived along the Columbia River.
Before traveling to Banff, we’d like to tell you a bit about Calgary.
Hopefully, you will have an opportunity to see some of the sights in this great Canadian city. We will be organizing tours.
Calgary is Canada’s oil and gas capital and the home of many multi-national energy corporations.
In the foreground you see Calgary’s oldest bridge – the Centre Street Bridge.
In the background on the left is the Calgary Tower built by Husky Oil in 1969 – long since eclipsed by a forest of skyscrapers
With a population of just under 1 million, Calgary is the fastest growing, and fifth largest city in Canada.
Our city, 100 years old this year, is proud of its heritage.
Shown here is a photo of the recently renovated old city hall, built in 1912, and the new Municipal Building guarded by a restored lion from the bridge seen on the previous slide.
(The Toronto architectural firm Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden designed the mirrored triangular structure, which also houses the aptly named Triangle Gallery of the Visual Arts.)
Stephen Avenue Walk, named for the Canadian Pacific Railway’s first president, Lord George Mount Stephen, is one of only three National Historic Districts in Canada and is the most intact historical street west of Montreal.
Thirty buildings have been restored in the past eight years, including the Doll Block, shown here.
Now let’s travel from Calgary to Banff.
Banff is a one-and-a-half hour scenic drive, on the double lane Trans-Canada Highway, roughly following the Bow River through golden prairies and rolling foothills into the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains.
Archaeologists have found evidence of human occupation in the Bow Valley from as early as 11,000 BC.
Native peoples, including Cree, Kootenay, Stoney, and Plains Blackfoot, have lived in these mountains and valleys for centuries.
In 1883, Canada was rapidly expanding west, primarily due to the construction of Canada’s first railroad.
Hot springs above the Bow River valley that runs through what is now the Town of Banff.
The CPR recognized the site’s tourism potential.
In 1885, the Canadian Government set aside the hot springs and surrounding lands as Canada’s first national park.
(The graphic image: a 1925 poster in the Canadian Pacific Railway Archives. The artwork is by Gordon Fraser Gillespie.)
William Cornelius Van Horne, GM of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is quoted as saying “If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists.”
What you see here is an example of “build it and they will come” – a spectacular hotel and spa in the Canadian Rockies that capitalizes on the scenery.
On the left is a 1920s brochure from the CPR Archives.
The original Banff Springs Hotel was designed for the Canadian Pacific Railway by Bruce Price, a New York architect, in 1886–88.
It was destroyed by fire in 1925, but rebuilt and enlarged by W.S. Painter and W.S. Orrock following Price’s original design.
The Banff Springs Hotel is considered to be the Canadian prototype for the Chateau Style - inspired by Scottish Baronial architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries and French chateaux of the Renaissance.
The CPR subsequently used the style for brick hotels on other picturesque sites, including the Château Frontenac in Quebec City and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia..
Blessed with one of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in the world, Banff has long been a source of inspiration for artists of all disciplines.
Canada’s Group of Seven painters were frequent visitors, including J.E.H. MacDonald…
And Lawren Harris
It was incomparable views like this one that inspired so many artists to come and paint in the Rockies.
(Contemporary Photographer, Jonathan Ley)
Welcome to Banff, shown here at the foot of Mount Rundle towering above the town.
Banff National Park welcomes over 5 million visitors each year and is one of the most popular parks in the world.
The town of Banff has a population of just over 7,000.
To contain the population and protect the environment, only people who are employed or have businesses in Banff are allowed to live here.
Although small, Banff is a vibrant and cosmopolitan community with a very rich cultural life and history.
The Banff Centre is internationally renowned for creativity in the arts, mountain culture, and leadership
Every year, thousands of talented artists come to study, exhibit and perform in Banff.
Visiting artists have included Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller from Canada, Antonia Muntadas from Spain, Dan Graham from the US, and British 2005 Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller, as well as musicians: John Cage, and Toru Takemitsu to name a few.
The Town of Banff is home to a variety of museums, national historic sites, and galleries, including the Walter Phillips Gallery at the Banff Centre, a contemporary art gallery that champions curatorial innovation.
The Whyte Museum was founded in 1958 by Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb Whyte (formerly of Boston), who played a central role in shaping the art history of Alberta and Western Canada.
The Museum and its library and archives focuses on the art and cultural history of the Rocky Mountains.
The Buffalo Nations Museum is the oldest Museum in Alberta dedicated to the history and contributions of Aboriginal people in the Bow Corridor.
From beautifully ornamented costumes to hunting equipment, the displays cover traditional ways and current expressions of Aboriginal culture.
A national historic site, the Cave and Basin hot springs led to the creation of Banff National Park.
Exhibits include a replica of the 1887 bathhouse and grand bathing pavilion.
The Banff Park Museum is a national historic site as well, and Western Canada’s oldest natural history museum, home to Rocky Mountain mammals, birds and insects preserved in Victorian style.
Some of the displays date back to 1860.
To experience an open-air museum like none you have ever seen before, climb a mountain or, better-yet, hitch a ride on a gondola.
At the summit, visitors can enjoy an unobstructed 360° view – the best view in the Rockies.
There are many animals which call the park home.
In the Spring, Elk have been known to come into town to eat the tulips while bears like to eat dandelions along the park’s roadsides.
(there are bears, elk, moose, mule deer, bighorn sheep, wolves, caribou, mountain goats, marmots, and an abundance of birds.)
Now we come to our Conference Hotel, located on the mountainside above downtown Banff.
The Fairmont Banff Springs has 770 guest rooms and suites, 15 dining rooms and lounges, extensive recreational facilities, featuring a golf course and world-class European-style spa,…. and, yes, a state-of-the-art Conference Centre.
The Hotel recently underwent a major restoration and has been designated a historic site by the Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Following are a few pictures which will give you an idea of the exceptional beauty of this hotel…..starting with the Lobby shown here
Ramsay Lounge
the Spanish Walk.
Finally, here is the Conference Centre. One of the great features of this conference centre is the outside patio that one can access from the meeting rooms to get a well-deserved break and take in some fresh air and the view, …meet with friends
These are the doors to the patio from the main conference floor.
Another view from the conference floor out onto the patio.
This is the spacious common area outside of the main conference meeting rooms with natural light.
The Banff Conference Planning Committee needs your feedback.
You should have received a Houston Conference Evaluation Form and a Banff Program Proposal Form in your registration bags.
If you did not, there are extra copies at the Registration Desk or you can go to the Houston and Banff conference websites to print off copies.
For the first time in the Society’s history, we will be meeting in a location that is small, yet truly awesome in its natural grandeur.
As Program Co-Chairs, we want to capitalize on the opportunity before us, to make Banff 2006 an inspirational and very relevant learning experience for everyone.
As we have stated on the Program Proposal form, continuing education is an important mission of ARLIS/NA and priority will be given to proposals that provide opportunities for the advancement of strategic initiatives and the development of Core Competencies.
We urge ARLIS/NA members to accept the challenge and submit Program Proposals that are timely, relevant, practical, and inspiring.
The deadline is May 14th, 2005.