Polaris Festival Presents: A Retrospective Polaris Poster Show
Free Poster Exhibition | Sep 2-10, 7 PM -2 AM | Cry Baby Gallery, Toronto
All Ages | Accessible From the Street | No accessible washroom.
In celebration of 20 years of Polaris Music Prize, we’ve created the Polaris Festival presented by Sirius XM Canada. The Festival is happening throughout September with over 15 events like Salons, Concerts, Listening Sessions, and our Concert & Award Ceremony at Massey Hall. Browse Festival events here.
Posters on sale here.
The Polaris Poster exhibition will be returning to Cry Baby Gallery to display a retrospective exhibition celebrating the bold graphic history of the Polaris Music Prize. This touring show features posters from every year of the prize’s poster history, each one a unique visual tribute to Canada’s most creative albums. Part music history, part art show, and fully one-of-a-kind.
The show will feature a selection of the following posters:
Luke Ramsey for Japandroids’ Celebration Rock
2012 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Jack Dylan for Handsome Furs Sound Kapital
2012 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Melinda Josie for Mac DeMarco’s Salad Days
2014 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Andrew Kolb for YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN’s UZU
2014 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Martin MacPherson for BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah’s Sour Soul
2015 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Adrian Forrow for Peaches’ The Teaches Of Peaches
2015 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winner
Maxime Francout for Lhasa de Sela’s La Llorona
2016 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winner
Monnet Design for Jessy Lanza’s Oh No
2016 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Louise Reimer for Gordon Lightfoot’s Lightfoot!
2017 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winner
Paige Bowman for Bruce Cockburn’s Stealing Fire
2018 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winner
Dylan Darwin for Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ The Average Savage
2018 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Cécile Gariépy for Hubert Lenoir’s Darlène
2018 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Matthew Boyd & Clea Forkert for Daniel Caesar’s Freudian
2018 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Chris Pecora for Weaves’ Wide Open
2018 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Tom Froese for Oscar Peterson Trio’s Night Train
2019 Slaight Family Heritage Prize Winner
Anson Chan for Shad’s A Short Story About A War
2019 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Marin Blanc for U.S. Girls’ Heavy Light
2020 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Yazmin Monet for Jessie Reyez’s BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US
2020 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Jenny Vivar for Lido Pimienta’s Miss Colombia
2020 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Ashley Floréal for Junia-T’s Studio Monk
2020 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Salina Perera for Jessie Reyez’s Being Human In Public
2019 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Dan Bergeron for Mustafa’s When Smoke Rises
2021 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Anson Chan for TOBi’s Elements Vol. 1
2021 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Monnet Design for Hubert Lenoir’s PICTURA DE IPSE : Musique directe
2022 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Kendra Lee for Charlotte Day Wilson’s ALPHA
2022 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Josephine Guan for Ombiigizi’s Sewn Back Together
2022 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Mark Neil Balson for Ouri’s Frame of a Fauna
2022 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Tallulah Fontaine for Kelly McMichael’s Waves
2022 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Yazmin Monet for Allison Russell’s The Returner
2024 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
Material Group for Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee
2024 Polaris Music Prize Nominee
CRY BABY GALLERY
Cry Baby Gallery is a unique bar in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood, known for its « art gallery meets speakeasy » concept. It features a dark, intimate cocktail bar hidden behind a brightly lit, street-style art gallery. The bar offers original, handcrafted cocktails, all served in a space adorned with local artwork.
POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE
Polaris Music Prize is a Canadian charitable arts organization celebrating 20 years of honouring music as art. From June to September 2025, the new Polaris Music Prize Festival brings concerts, salons, and listening sessions to Toronto and across Ontario — culminating in the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony on September 16 at Massey Hall. Through its Album, Song, and Heritage Prizes, Polaris amplifies Canadian artists based on artistic merit — not genre, sales, or algorithmic popularity. With 700+ artists championed, over $1.4M in prize and artist fees awarded, and a jury of over 200 music critics and curators, Polaris protects space for boundary-pushing music and fosters a deeper national music culture. Learn more at polarismusicprize.ca.
The event is part of the Polaris Music Prize Festival presented by SiriusXM Canada. CBC presents the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. It is supported by SiriusXM Canada, Ontario Creates, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and the Slaight Family Foundation.
