Electric poles weren’t the only places to find Yo Rodeo! art last year: Paul Hammond and Seth Smith were asked to do a Polaris Prize poster for nominee Julie Doiron. Hammond says, “We also showed work in Ontario...London and Ottawa. The London show was great. It was at UWO and we were guest artists for a workshop exhibit called Zinelab, about DIY art.” The big news is that Hammond and Smith gave up their day jobs and are now a full-time rodeo. “We’re definitely a hell of a lot poorer, but it’s a good feeling,” says Hammond. “We’ve got a new studio in the Manual Training Collective, which we share with Stephen (Hello Daylight) Bishop and we’re there almost every day working on stuff. It’s giving us a chance to branch out and take more work on, plus we’re working on a lot more personal art projects. You’ll see more Yo Rodeo! art this year which doesn’t have any band names anywhere. That’s exciting, but we’re still doing posters/album art, of course!”
First runner up: Adam Hartling
Second runner up: Alex Currie