A Nanaimo artist has been long listed for the Polaris Music Prize, an annual music award given on artistic merit to Canadian Artists.

On June 11th the Polaris Long List was released and alongside 39 other albums was Hard Hearted Woman, by Nanaimo’s own Ora Cogan. Cogan now has a chance to win the $30,000 Polaris Prize.

Cogan dropped by CHLY’s studio to talk about her craft and inspiration behind her long listed album.

“It's kind of a big deal. I've never been nominated for anything before … it's nice to feel valued,” she said.

Cogan was surprised about her spot on the long list as she was unaware she was being considered for it but was excited.

The Polaris Music Prize, first given in 2006 is an album award for Canadian artists given completely on merit, not sales. Even being nominated for the prize helps raise attention for the artist's work and gives them publicity that can move them into the mainstream. The Polaris organization says “Music as art transforms culture and shapes identity. We’re building something that lasts.”

Cogan’s album Hard Hearted Woman is inspired by various current events and themes. The focus track ‘Honey’ being based off of the current events regarding transgenderism in the United States.

The cover of Hard Hearted Woman by Nanaimo’s Ora Cogan. (Sacred Bones Records)

“I'm trying to show up as a conduit, you know? I care deeply about trans rights. I deeply care about Palestinian liberation. I deeply care about being a part of a movement and society that seeks justice and liberation for everybody, she said.

Aside from current events the album is also inspired by folk and experimental music from Ireland and other European countries. Cogan mentioned a formative experience in her younger years that really drove her into the path her music has taken.

“When I was about 17. I went to Ireland for a little bit and a friend of mine who is Irish and was learning about Irish traditional folk music, took me to the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, and I got to see some exceptional music.”

She talked about coming back from her latest tour, which took her to Europe and Ireland among other places, and the experiences she had with not only the music within these countries but also the venues.

“In Europe there is generally a lot of really scrappy kinds of venues, DIY spaces, artist-run centers, lots of really interesting venues and musicians, and lots of passion and culture around music and art in general,” she said.

While she talked about folk music she encountered, Cogan also touched on her Jewish heritage, and how learning folk songs from her culture is influencing this time in her life.

“It’s a big experience. Learning these Klezmer songs and traditional Jewish folk songs has been a beautiful and painful experience in this era of genocide against Palestinians. It's not a time where I personally feel very celebratory about Jewish culture when it's being used in such a heinous way,” she said. “There's some really beautiful space that a lot of creative people are working on, who are maybe a lot more culturally Jewish than I am, and maybe religious and maybe more practicing than I am. But for me that's where I've found some, some healing and some somatic healing, learning around identity, justice, and being grounded in a Jewish identity that's actively advocating for Palestinian liberation and dedicated to that.”

Cogan’s album reflects a lot of these thoughts and feelings. It allows the listener to be gently caressed by these ideas, and after sit with them to feel the resonance of the songs.

She and other Canadian artists are eagerly waiting for the Polaris Short List to be announced on July 9th. Afterwards the award winner will be announced during the Polaris concert and ceremony in Toronto on September 22nd. Cogan faces stiff competition, with other artists nominated for the award such as Peaches, Boy Golden, Begonia, Angine de Poitrine, and Foxwarren just to name a few of the 40 long-listed nominees.

Cogan isn’t the first Vancouver Island artist to be nominated. In 2025 two island artists were also nominated for the song prize and album prize. Blue Moon Marquee for their song ‘Put your Feathers on’ and Art d'Ecco for his album Serene Demon.

Hard Hearted Woman, is out on Sacred Bones Records and available on vinyl, compact disc, and on all streaming platforms.

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