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2025 Poster: Lakwena pays tribute to Nina Simone

London artist Lakwena has created the poster for the 59th Montreux Jazz Festival, which will be held from the 4th to 19th July 2025. The typographic work with psychedelic inspirations quotes lyrics from the song “Stars”, performed by Nina Simone during an iconic performance in Montreux in 1976.

A dizzying profusion of colours, hypnotic shapes and a message in capital letters that both calls out and intrigues: Lakwena’s psychedelic work immediately catches the eye. The London-based artist, of British and Ugandan origin, is renowned for her colourful work focusing on typography and powerful messages. As usual, the Montreux Jazz Festival gave her carte blanche to create the poster.

“My colour choices are very intuitive and free. I like to juxtapose contrasting colors, so they vibrate and play with the eye. The artwork has a psychedelic and dazzling feel, which I like. I wanted to really captivate and amaze people. “

Lakwena

ALL YOU SEE IS GLORY

Using text as the central visual element, Lakwena has created the first typographic poster in Festival’s history. The work revolves around five words – ALL YOU SEE IS GLORY – a short and powerful message that invites various interpretations.

The phrase is taken from the lyrics of the song “Stars”, composed by Janis Ian in 1974 and played by Nina Simone at Montreux in 1976. During her research on the Festival, Lakwena was immediately struck by Nina Simone’s performance, which she describes as “so intimate, raw and authentic”. The charged performance – in which she orders a woman to sit down – is one of the most iconic of the artist’s career, appearing in the documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?”.

“To me, the glory is referencing the legacy of the Festival, its legendary concerts, the beauty of its lake and mountains. But like a lot of my work, it can be read in several ways. There is also a bittersweetness about it, because the song “Stars” is very much about how fame is passing. I think it’s a really grounding concept and a nice contrast to our culture’s obsession with fame. Glory can be passing, fleeting and brief, but it is beautiful.”

Lakwena

ABOUT LAKWENA

Vibrant colour and bold text combine in Lakwena Maciver’s joyful and gently subversive work. Her paintings, murals and installations often reference everyday shared experiences and popular culture, such as songs, fashion and basketball. Bringing messages of hopeful possibility, Lakwena speaks to points of connection and commonality between people, with a utopian vision that dreams of redemption and liberation. Her approach is instinctive and autodidactic, producing visceral, rhythmic and immersive panel paintings, iconic murals and installations.

Based in London, Lakwena’s work has been shown internationally in cities including London, Paris, Rotterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, and at institutions including the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Somerset House, the Southbank Centre in London and the Rotterdam Kunsthal. Her works in the public realm have ranged from one of the largest public artworks in the UK wrapping an electrical substation in London, to a juvenile detention centre in Arkansas, a monastery in Vienna, and the Bowery Wall in New York City.