Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

BRAMPTON’S RISING STAR GOING HIGHER THAN THE 13 th  FLOOR   By Stephen Weir : The star  Polaris is  408 light years from Earth.  At the rate Haviah Mighty’s career has taken off, she should be there any day now! The Brampton Hip Hop artist won it all Monday night at the Carlu Hall in Toronto.  Not only did she win the Polaris Music Prize but her performance at the national music event broadcast by the CBC was rated stellar too. The Polaris is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit.  Mighty’s new album 13 th  Floor was deemed the country’s best. The award was established in 2006 and comes with a $50,000 cash prize. On Monday night, a jury of 11 music experts came to the downtown Carlu to pick the best Canadian album of the year.  Haviah Mighty  made history becoming the first hip hop artist to win the grand prize.  On stage after capturing the Polaris Music Prize, Haviah Mighty explained what the 13 th  Floor w

. Scotiabank sponsors $50,000 prize, publishing deal and a gallery exhibition for the year's best photographer. Bay Street's brand new award By Stephen Weir On Friday March 11th, the Scotiabank announced in Toronto the three Canadian photographers who are in the running for the nation’s newest and richest photography award. The Scotiabank Photography Award – SPA - new this year, will not only reward one photographer with a $50,000 purse (the two runners up get $5,000 each) but will also give out a publishing contract with one of the world’s top publishing houses – the Swiss based Steidl Books – to the winner. Vancouver’s Roy Arden , Montréal’s Lynn Cohen and Robin Collyer , (Toronto) were named to the SPA short-list at a lunchtime press event. The announcement was made in the art-filled posh 63rd floor office (think of it as an economic spa) headquarters of Scotiabank in downtown Toronto. “Believe me, we aren’t grumpy old bankers,” said Scotiabank vice-president John Doig.