The Montreux Jazz Festival is pleased to announce the winners of the “RESTART” poster competition, in partnership with Vaudoise Insurance. A total of 1,935 artists from 54 different countries took part in the competition and offered their unique vision of a world getting ready to restart.
The 10 best posters have been selected by a professional jury, chaired by graphic artist and designer of the 2017 Festival poster Malika Favre, Stefano Stoll, Director of the Festival Images in Vevey, and Alexis Georgacopoulos, Director of the Lausanne ECAL/École Cantonale d’Art (University of Art and Design).
The 10 shortlisted posters will be printed and sold on the festival’s website and for each poster sold, the artist concerned will receive a 20% commission on sales.
Winners of the ‘Restart’ poster competition are:
VALERIA PERNICE (ITALY)
“Valeria Pernice’s piece on the theme of RESTART convinced the jury unanimously by its visual and conceptual effectiveness. It represents without concessions the emotion of the first cancellation in the history of the Montreux Jazz Festival, while energetically marking the promise to celebrate the event in 2021, against all odds. By skilfully turning the press release of this sad April 17, 2020 into a positive message of recovery for 2021, this poster tells what everyone has intimately experienced this year: the desire to the past behind us and the strong will to bring life back.” – Stefano Stoll, jury member and director of the Festival Images Vevey
Valeria Pernice also wins the Public Prize (CHF 3,000), awarded to the poster with the highest number of “likes” on the official Instagram account of the Montreux Jazz Festival before 27 April at noon.
JAMY HERRMANN (SWITZERLAND)
“At first glance, Jamy Hermann’s project shows a dark, mechanical universe of great visual density. Then, the shapes stand out, bright, joyful and vibrant colours, which recall the reflections of the stage lights on the instruments during a concert. The jury was convinced by this aesthetic approach as well as by the technique used – the project being entirely produced in computer-generated graphics.” – Alexis Georgacopoulos, jury member and Director of the ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne
FEDERICO TRAMONTE (ITALIA)
“The poster designed by Federico Tramonte caught the attention of the jury for its effective use of illustration to create a composition full of poetry and hope. The eye is instantly drawn to the pianist and her light movement that evokes a first note in suspension, foretelling a new melody.” – Malika Favre, president of the jury, illustrator and creator of the 2017 poster
30 POSTERS EXHIBITED DURING THE FESTIVAL’S 55th EDITION
A total of 30 works from the “Restart” competition will be exhibited during the 55th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival: the 10 posters chosen by the professional jury, as well as 20 additional posters selected by an internal jury of the Festival and Vaudoise Assurances.
Alison Antonioli, a student at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), wins the Vaudoise Assurances Arts Committee prize. She will receive a commission for a special arts project that will become part of the Vaudoise art collection.
“The Vaudoise Art Commission was particularly impressed by Alison Antonioli’s graphic artwork, which interpreted the Montreux Jazz Festival’s 2021 motto in an original way by subtly playing with the word “Restart”. Two beach clappers are screwed to the wall: one displays the wording “rest” and the other “art”. The Vaudoise jury found this radical and daring choice to be a celebration of art, conviviality and togetherness.” – Nathalie Follonier-Kehrli, President of the Artistic Commission and General Secretary of Vaudoise Assurances
A MESSAGE OF HOPE
With the competition’s theme, the Montreux Jazz Festival and Vaudoise Assurances seeked to offer a message of hope, while supporting a sector that has been badly hit by the pandemic. The competition was therefore limited to visual arts professionals, apprentices and students.
The Montreux Jazz Festival and Vaudoise Assurances both have a long-standing relationship with the visual arts. Every year since 1967 the Festival has given a Swiss or international artist free rein over the design of its official poster, and Vaudoise Assurances set up its Arts Committee in 1955, at the instigation of its management and Jean Tschumi, the renowned architect who designed its Cèdres Head Office in Lausanne
©2021 Montreux Jazz Festival, Alison Antonioli, Jamy Hermann, Valeria Pernice
Art Plugged is a contemporary platform inspired by a relationship with the broader arts communities. We provide our audience with curated insight into the world of art, from exhibitions to artist interviews and more.
