Get ready to be inspired by the mountains!

LISTEN Studios - affordable creative spaces for you to hear the world around you.

Vision: To provide support for Creatives and Artists to experiment in the development and creation of artworks within welcoming, inspiring, and affordable spaces to connect to the nature and  local communities.

Mission: To create a grounded, yet magical setting for reflection and creativity within affordable studio spaces, retreats, residencies, and workshops that focus on uninterrupted time to make, connect and dream surrounded by inspiring landscape.

LISTEN Studios, Retreats & Workshops provides basic supports for all artists, creative makers, individual

and collaborative teams to share spaces to create, teach, share and access space for:

  • Beginner to experienced Artists, Creative Makers and Designers to work, individually or gather with friends, and share experiences, techniques and skills.

  • Painters, Illustrators, 2D Artists, Print-makers, Sculptors, Stained Glass Artists, Jewellers, Photographers, Graphic Designers, and Crafters have access to space and basic equipment needs to create with short or long term options.

  • Textile and Paper Artists to quilt, sew, embroider, knit or scrapbook together.

  • Arts Administrators to get inspired and create projects for their local community.

  • Writers, Musicians and Composers to experiment and develop work including researchers, historians, archivists writing papers and books .

  • Instructors and Educators a space to offer unique learning opportunities and skills.

  • Chefs wanting to focus on new culinary pursuits (basic equipment available at Listen Studios, commercial kitchen options are available - please inquire!)

Barrier Free Access to Listen Studios, Workshops and Retreats

Please consider donating to help keep Listen Studios affordable. Your support allows first-time and under served artists to use the space for free or at reduced rates. Donations help cover fees for low-income and marginalized artists to attend workshops as well as assist those launching their first opportunities to teach. They also cover costs that enable us to offer no rental fees for beginner entrepreneurs. For those that donate over $2500 a year, we will show our thanks by giving you an original artwork, along with the joy of supporting the artist community. Please click the donate button at the top of the page.

Thank you

Values

Professional:  To listen to new ideas and explore the development and experimentation of art making skills and practices that promote the value and respect of arts and creativity, delivered by experienced professional artists.

Accessible:  To continue to improve resources for financially and physically accessible programs and spaces for all skill levels and needs.

Sustainable: To ensure recycling and safe material disposal initiatives are in place, access to environmentally friendly equipment and materials and provide healthy safe environments.

Responsible:  Be stewards of the land, respecting nature and Indigenous peoples, histories and collaborations.

Listen Studios, Retreats & Workshops offer studio rentals, education, and residency experiences.

By stepping away from the distractions, restrictions, and pressures of everyday life, Artists and Creatives will thrive in new environments that breathe inspiration into their projects, ideas, and artwork. Based in Canmore, a community that offers a myriad of inspiring landscapes, amenities, parks, and tranquility, participants can explore the rich histories of the Bow Valley. Furthermore, this strategic location serves as a gateway to numerous inspiring day trips, with easy access to Kananaskis, Spray Lakes, Lake Louise, Emerald Lake, Kicking Horse, the Great Divide, Radium, Invermere, Marble Canyon, Peyto Lake, and along the Icefields Parkway.

STUDIO 209 Facility includes:

  • Lockable cabinets to store materials

  • One basic washroom with large sink to clean equipment and supplies (ie: screens, etc.)

  • Small communal kitchen with basic cutlery, dishes, fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster and cleaning supplies

  • Air purifier for vapour and dusts

  • Internet access

  • Lights, folding tables and chairs

  • Basic tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, mitre saw, nail gun, air compressor and projector

  • Wall and flat storage space for artworks to dry, storage for larger 2D artworks

Listen Studios was created to be a unique place for artistic expression and collaboration. The founder wanted a space for diverse talents to learn and create together. An affordable space to support artists is key to the studio's identity and future success.

HELLO! I am so happy that you are here! My name is Dawn Saunders Dahl. I am a practicing artist who has lived in Alberta all my life. I moved to Canmore in 2015 to work for the Town Arts and Events (now arts and culture) department. I am the Curator of Indigenous Initiatives at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff and I am contracted to lead and curate Public Art Projects in Ottawa and across Western Canada. I m a passionate advocate for Artists and Indigenous arts communities in Alberta. Since 2008, through various public art initiatives, exhibitions, projects, and events, my work has and continues to be influenced by my deep connection to the land, my ancestral heritage, and my commitment to learning.

I am of European (English, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Swedish, French) descent and Red River Métis ancestry (Ojibwe, Saulteaux, Chippewa). I am honoured to be a citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta and I was gifted a Iethka (Stoney) name. My strong support for Indigenous rights grew stronger when I attended  the last Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Edmonton. There, I pledged to acknowledge my own advantages and work to include Indigenous viewpoints in my roles in the arts.

You can learn more about me and my artistic practices by visiting my art website HERE

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