For the first time since 1967, Montreux Jazz Festival will not be taking place after announcing in April that this year’s event has been cancelled due to coronavirus. Yet the festival hasn’t entirely disappeared for the year.

Seventeen artists who have all previously created the annual poster for Montreux, held annually at Lake Geneva, have now produced original artworks in response to the theme of Silent Shores.

Montreux has a history of inviting leading creative figures to produce the artwork for the festival each year, with past poster designers including Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and David Bowie.

Among the artists participating in the new series are illustrator Malika Favre, artist and Gucci collaborator Ignasi Monreal, and French graphic designer Yoann Lemoine, who also performs as a singer-songwriter under the alias Woodkid. Though all artworks are new, some of the artists have opted to remix their previous Montreux designs.

To coincide with the poster series, Montreux has also launched a design competition open to the public under the same theme, with the winner receiving a pass to next year’s edition of the festival.

montreuxjazzfestival.com