History and heritage meet in the Cape Winelands as the Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek (MJFSA) — the first-ever Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) on African soil — reveals the poster that will define its identity this year: a work by South African master artist Sam Nhlengethwa.
Continuing the nearly 60-year-old global MJF tradition of pairing art and music, the Franschhoek festival organisers collaborated with Elana Brundyn, one of SA’s most respected cultural leaders, known for her work in building museums, shaping collections, and redefining how art engages with society across the African continent.
Brundyn invited a select group of South African artists, each chosen for their distinctive voice, to interpret the spirit of the upcoming festival and the global MJF brand. From their submissions, Sam Nhlengethwa’s interpretation was selected for its elegant visual dialogue between music and culture.
Nhlengethwa’s work, chosen for its layered conversation between music, memory, and place, perfectly embodies that theme. “Sam has painted our musicians, our people, and our joy for decades,” says Brundyn. “His deep connection to jazz, and his instinctive understanding of how sound becomes emotion represented in his submission, made him the natural choice for this historic first.”
A lifelong jazz devotee, Nhlengethwa’s visual language has long celebrated SA’s musical heritage. His work pays tribute to icons such as Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Miles Davis — reimagining them in collage, print, and painting.
“Jazz has always been part of who I am,” Nhlengethwa says. “To create this poster for Montreux — and for Africa — feels like a homecoming. It’s a dialogue between sound and image, between Africa and the world.”
Sam’s poster captures the warmth, rhythm, and sophistication that define SA today. It reminds us that our stories, told through music and art, do belong on the world stage
— Mark Goedvolk, founder of MJFSA
Founder of MJFSA Mark Goedvolk says: “This first MJF on African soil is a statement of confidence in who we are as a creative continent. Sam’s poster captures the warmth, rhythm, and sophistication that define SA today. It reminds us that our stories, told through music and art, do belong on the world stage and we are thrilled that an artist of Sam’s calibre is joining us on this exciting chapter in Montreux’s history.”
The MJFSA will debut in Franschhoek from March 27 to 29 2026, uniting world-class musicians and artists in a jazz-inspired lifestyle festival anchored in a boutique setting that will celebrate Africa’s creative brilliance.
For more information, visit the MJFSA website.
This article was sponsored by the MJFSA.
