Banff, Alberta, October 15, 2013 -- Polaris Music Prize, The Banff Centre, and Scion Sessions have joined forces to create the Banff-Polaris Residency. In 2014, two artists shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize will receive a three-week residency in the heart of the Canadian Rockies at The Banff Centre. The selected artists will collaborate over 21 days, spending time in studio and connecting with other resident artists as they work together to create and record new music.
“We have long dreamt of providing an artist-friendly environment where short list alumni would have an opportunity to cross pollinate and create something altogether new. Given their history with hosting and nurturing creative pioneers, partnering with the Banff on this project makes perfect sense. It also makes perfect sense that Scion Sessions, our presenting sponsor and strong supporters of independent music, help to make the results permanent by releasing a split 7” of this collaboration”, said Steve Jordan, executive director and founder of the Polaris Music Prize.
“The Banff Centre is delighted to invite Polaris short-listed artists to create new, collaborative works in residence at the Centre. This is a highly creative, innovative and interdisciplinary environment where they will be able to produce new work and share it with audiences on-site and online. I look forward to seeing and hearing the results of this new residency,” says Carolyn Warren, vice president, Arts at The Banff Centre.
The Banff-Polaris Residency includes 21 days of accommodation and meals, access to The Banff Centre's many interdisciplinary facilities, producers, equipment, and technical support, expenses for travel of the selected groups/artists to and from The Banff Centre, a film shoot, and studio time. Scion Sessions will curate a unique pressing of the collaboration stemming from the residency on 500 7” vinyl records.
The artists will be selected jointly by Polaris Music Prize and The Banff Centre and will be announced in mid-December, with the residency itself taking place in the 2014 calendar year.
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About The Banff Centre: The Banff Centre's mission is inspiring creativity. Thousands of artists, leaders, and researchers from across Canada and around the world participate in programs at The Banff Centre every year. Through its multidisciplinary programming, The Banff Centre provides the support needed to create, to develop solutions, and to make the impossible possible. Moving forward, the Centre will disseminate art and ideas developed in Banff through initiatives in digital, web, radio, and broadcast media.
About Polaris Music Prize: Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization that honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music. Polaris Music Prize recognizes and markets albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history. www.polarismusicprize.ca.
About Scion Sessions: Scion Sessions is committed to supporting Canadian artists, catalyzing original projects in the music community. Scion Sessions is the music vehicle of Scion Canada, actively supporting people who are driven by their passions. www.scionsessions.ca.