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"This is What We call Progress" from The Besnard Lakes
Sample Track 2:
"Texico Bitches" from Broken Social Scene
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"Odessa" from Caribou
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"Les Chemins de Verre" from Karkwa
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"Robots" from Dan Mangan
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"Lewis Takes His Shirt Off" from Owen Pallett
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"Guess What?" from Radio Radio
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"Another Year Again" from The Sadies
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"Rose Garden" from Shad
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"Alligator" from Tegan and Sara
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Feature
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Ottowa Citizen, Feature >>

Polaris Prize poster on display at art gallery   

By Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen September 17, 2010

Instead of a trophy or plaque, each of the 10 acts shortlisted for the annual Polaris Music Prize receive a poster designed by a Canadian artist.

This year, the complete series of posters will be displayed in Ottawa's Canteen Art Shop and Gallery, the first public exhibit of the posters in the five-year history of the prize. The Polaris Art Show starts with a reception tonight, and runs until Sept. 26.

"I think it will be a fun show in regards to bringing different types of people to the shop," says Canteen co-owner Inaas Kiryakos, who approached Polaris organizers months ago with the idea of mounting an exhibit. "They're coming to see the posters because they're fans of the band, more than being fans of the artist."

Ottawa's Pierre Richardson is one of the artists in the show. Two years ago, he designed the poster for Kathleen Edwards' Asking for Flowers album; this year, he designed the poster that pays tribute to the Sadies' disc, Darker Circles.

He was at the cottage when he got the call.

"I had my girlfriend send some MP3s so I could hear the new record and see what I could pull from there to put in the poster to get the vibe right," Richardson says.

"What I do is a couple of sketches, then work with the text and create some kind of image and build on it. It's all drawn out, and then I scan all the separate parts and build it in PhotoShop. It's pretty much a marriage between analog and digital."

The Polaris prize is awarded annually to a Canadian recording of the highest artistic integrity, as chosen by a panel of music critics from across the country.

The $20,000 prize will be handed out at a gala in Toronto on Sept. 20, featuring performances by each of the 10 nominees. The gala will be webcast live on MuchMusic.com, and broadcast on CBC Radio 3 and Sirius satellite radio channel 86.

Other artists up for this year's prize are Tegan and Sara, Karkwa, Owen Pallett, the Besnard Lakes, Caribou, Radio Radio, Broken Social Scene, Dan Mangan and Shad.

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Polaris Music Prize Poster Show

Where and when: Canteen Art Shop and Gallery, 238 Dalhousie St. until Sept. 26. The reception gala is tonight from 6 to 9 p.m.

What else: Limited-edition prints of the posters are for sale at the gallery. You can also win a pair of tickets to the Sept. 20 Polaris gala in Toronto at tonight's reception.

 09/17/10 >> go there
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