Episode 109. Janine Windolph, Director of Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Episode 109. Janine Windolph, Director of Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

It is one thing to talk about representation. It is another to build the space for it.

In this episode of the Overheard Podcast recorded live in Banff, we sit down with Janine Windolph, Director of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Janine is Atikamekw and Woodland Cree, and brings decades of experience as a filmmaker, editor, educator, fine craft artist, and community grounded storyteller. Her work lives at the intersection of Indigenous arts, land based learning, and institutional change.

We unpack what meaningful inclusion looks like inside large arts institutions, how Indigenous stories are still misunderstood or sidelined in mainstream media, and what it takes to create safer, more welcoming creative spaces for artists. Janine shares how her relationship with land and community shapes her approach to storytelling, how she carries the weight of difficult histories in her work, and why representation without access is not enough.

This conversation goes deep on:

• Indigenous arts and cultural leadership in Banff

• The role of institutions in reconciliation and real change

• Storytelling, land based learning, and intergenerational knowledge

• Access, privilege, and who gets to occupy creative spaces

• What emerging Indigenous artists need to hear right now

We also get into Janine’s journey from community engaged filmmaking and documentary work to shaping Indigenous arts programming at one of Canada’s most influential creative institutions, and what she hopes the next generation of Indigenous artists will not have to fight as hard for.

Plus, in our You Didn’t Hear It From Us segment, we break down the cancellation of the AROABORA outdoor electronic music festival in Banff and what that says about the realities of trying to build large scale events in a national park town.

If you care about Indigenous representation in the arts, reconciliation beyond performative language, Banff culture, and what real institutional change looks like on the ground, this episode is for you.

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See you next Tuesday!!