The Walter Phillips Gallery was formally established at Banff Centre on August 3, 1976 with the mandate to collect and exhibit Canadian and International contemporary art.

[citation needed] For contemporary artists, particularly those engaged in alternative forms of practice, the WPG remains an essential and principal site where art is presented to an audience for critical reception.

In an effort to ensure a broad and balanced representation of the different areas of research at the Centre, the Gallery exhibits and collects: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, photography and new media-based works.

The Gallery's substantial collection of video art is housed in the Paul D. Fleck Library at The Banff Centre and is available for public viewing.

[citation needed][2] The Gallery's publication program presents new ideas for understanding the social, historical, political and aesthetic realms in which many of today's artworks exist.