Following the initiative of artists and of representatives of the Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta, Regroupement artistique francophone de l’Alberta (RAFA) was created in 2001 and incorporated in 2002. In 2003, RAFA became a member of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française and received the status of provincial arts service organization from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts in 2004. In 2005 the position of director was created and its first artists’ conference was organized. RAFA has grown rapidly and in 2010 it moved its head office to the Cité francophone in Edmonton.

RAFA is an organization that provides services aimed at the development and promotion of Francophone artists and cultural organizations, and represents the artistic and cultural community of Francophone Alberta.

Among RAFA’s accomplishments are the creation of a network of Francophone performing arts presenters in the province and publication of their newsletter, Le Diffuseur; creation of a performing arts market for Alberta’s French-speaking artists; the holding of an annual Forum des arts et de la culture; the launch of the Aide-nous à te découvrir campaign, designed to assist in the discovery of artists; the creation of the Alberta tour of Coup de foudre; the online publication of the directory Répertoire visuel des artistes d’expression française de l’Alberta; the creation of Entr’ARTS, an interdisciplinary program in artistic creation at Banff Centre; and the creation of two online portals: Alinéa, for literary arts, and Coup d’œil, for arts and culture news.

Each year, RAFA awards the Prix Sylvie Van Brabant for excellence in artistic creation, and the Prix Martin-Lavoie, for excellence in promoting the arts in Alberta.

The functioning of RAFA is ensured by a Management Board and a provincial office. The Board is comprised of a president and seven representatives of the following areas of activity: literary arts, theatre, production and distribution, visual arts, dance, music, and media arts. The provincial office includes an executive director and a number of councilors and coordinators.