Polaris Award 2007

For those who don’t know, the Polaris Award is a relatively new prize, which is to be awarded to the best Canadian Album of the year. According to their web site, the award “celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing, then marketing the albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history, as judged by a panel of selected critics and experts.”

This year the people at Polaris asked me to make a poster for one of the nominated bands, Miracle Fortress. The concept is to have a different designer make a poster for one of the 10 nominated bands, and that these will be displayed at the Polaris Gala, and then taken home by the bands as a snazzy keep sake, instead of some cruddy old plaque. Thing is though, that Miracle Fortress is actually my roommate and long time friend, Graham Van Pelt. Who, chances are, isn’t going to be cheered up by the idea of taking home a Jack Dylan poster, instead of the $20 000 award.

Pictured in the poster are: A giant Jian Ghomeshi (cbc radio host, Polaris judge, and rumoured miracle fortress naysayer), and nominees Feist, Junior Boys, Besnard Lakes, Chad Vangaalen,The Dears, Arcade Fire, Patrick Watson, Jole Plaskett, Juile Doirin, and being swatted away by Jian at the top, Miracle Fortress.