Open call: 2026 MTN Bushfire and CollaboNation

The festival is inviting applications from artists across a broad range of disciplines, including live music, dance, theatre, spoken word, comedy, puppetry, film, visual art exhibitions, storytelling and roving performances.

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to showcase their work across MTN Bushfire’s five official stages, each offering a distinctive creative platform. These include the Main Stage, the House On Fire Amphitheatre, the Firefly Stage, the Bring Your Fire Zone – which highlights arts advocacy initiatives – and the family-oriented KidZone.

Aligned with the festival’s Bring Your Fire call to action, which encourages positive social and environmental change, MTN Bushfire seeks artists who reflect its core values of unity in diversity, creative expression and social impact. The festival is particularly interested in performers who use their art as a vehicle for meaningful advocacy and community engagement.

CollaboNation project

In addition to the general call for performers, artists are also invited to apply for the fourth edition of CollaboNation, Bushfire Records’ annual cross-border music collaboration project.

Aimed at “Uniting Africa through Music”, CollaboNation brings together artists from different regions and genres to co-create original music. The project includes collaborative songwriting and recording, behind-the-scenes content production, and a live performance at MTN Bushfire.

Artists interested in applying for both the festival and CollaboNation can complete the online application form available on the Artists page of the official MTN Bushfire website before 7 November 2025.