Poster designed by Chinese artist jazzes up major music festival

• Published date: 24 June 2022
• Publication title: Shanghai Daily

Chinese artist Wu Lewei has won a worldwide competition to design the official poster for the Montreux Jazz Festival China, which will be held in October.

The winning entry, selected by a professional jury and 8,500 public votes, features a bridge formed of a curved stave and musical notes. It symbolizes the connection of music lovers from East to West.

The Chinese event is an offshoot of the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival held every summer on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The first Chinese edition was held last year in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province and a city also famed for its lake.

Specially designed posters have been part of the heritage and tradition of the festival. Since 1967, the festival has entrusted the creation of its official poster to Swiss and international artists.

Over the years, many international artists have given form to their very personal visions for the festival's poster design. Keith Haring produced a trio of posters in 1983, then teamed up with Andy Warhol for another in 1986. David Bowie produced a poster in 1995, and more recently Yoann Lemoine -- also known as Woodkid -- and Malika Favre have done the same.

The poster design competition organized for this year's China festival had "bridge" as its theme. The organizers received 162 entries from 16 countries, including China, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, France and Nigeria.

seven-member jury pared the competitors down to 20 and put their designs up to a public vote.

"We were thinking about the cultural exchange between the East and the West when deciding on the theme of the poster competition," Qi Pengpeng, chief executive officer of Montreux Jazz Festival China, told Shanghai Daily.

"Notes and beats are bridges that link musicians and audiences, and people from varied backgrounds," said Qi. "We brought the Montreux Jazz Festival to China, which is like building a bridge from Lake Geneva to Hangzhou's West Lake."

Winner designer Wu is a graphic designer who specializes in visual communication designs. According to Wu, the poster uses the color texture of a musical score to create a warm yellow tone. In the middle, the musical notation on the stave "bridge" changes from treble to bass clef -- symbolizing the full gamut of musical expression.

Below the bridge, English letters repeating "Montreux Jazz Festival China 2022" form a pool of people, reflecting the lively atmosphere and happy feeling of the event. Red and black fill the poster, reflecting pureness and...