Johnnie Walker’s AfroExchange Creative Summit delivers on it’s bold promise: the Creative Summit becomes a lived reality as Africa’s most significant creative forces build, exchange, and move culture forward together.
The summit’s central idea that Africa is not an emerging creative market but the origin point of global cultural movements was demonstrated in real time. In co-creation labs, at panel tables, and across a collection of art that grew with every guest’s contribution, AfroExchange 2026 made its argument through the work.
THE DAY IN BRIEF
The summit was hosted by MCs Naledi Mallela and Kabelo Moremi, who anchored the day’s programme and held the room between its many moving parts. The morning opened with a fireside chat between Africa Creative Agency founder and CEO Colin Gayle and the Diageo SWC Head of Culture Ifeoma Agu, whose address unpacked the intellectual and creative conditions that allow African talent to move from local significance to global influence. Drawing on his own career and the broader arc of the continent’s creative economy, Gayle set the tone for a day defined by rigour, honesty, and a refusal to perform ambition rather than live it.
The panel discussions (hosted by George Avakian and Ayandamantombazane Mhlongo) brought together some of South Africa’s most significant creative practitioners for an unscripted examination of where African creativity stands, what it still needs, and who is responsible for building what comes next. Music panelists Thandi Draai, Lelowhatsgood, and Kat Upendi joined Avakian’s session; and Art panelists Andile Dlamini, TK Mahapa, and Khensani Mohlatole sat alongside Mhlongo.
The Co-Creation Labs ran in five parallel streams. In the Fashion Lab, Khensani Mohlatole guided participants through a hands-on creative session incorporating African textiles. In the Art Lab, Njabulo Hlophe led groups as they created personalised expressions of what Keep Walking means in their own lives. In the Music Lab, MUZI brought guests closer to the process of music-making. In the DJ Labs, guests learned how to keep the dancefloor going by mixing tunes together. During the Mixology Labs, guests learnt how to make their own cocktails, with Johnnie Walker’s execptional whisky as the star of each glass.
SK Original produced an art work inspired by Johnnie Walker over the course the day using his signature technique of painting by making small and repetitive cracks on a glass surface. A range of Johnnie Walker cocktails were on offer for all guests, with the menu taking inspiration from cuisines across Africa.
The evening closed with DJ sets from Kat Upendi and Lelowhatsgood before headline performer Kamo Mphela brought the summit to its close — a celebration that felt earned by everything that had preceded it.
“Keep Walking is not a phrase we associate only with ambition. Keep Walking is a reminder that the path forward is always better navigated with clear eyes and deliberate steps — in life, in creativity, and in everything you consume along the way.” said Ifeoma Agu, Head of Culture: Influencers, Advocacy & Experiential at Diageo SWC
A NOTE ON RESPONSIBLE ENJOYMENT
Johnnie Walker’s approach to events like the AfroExchange Creative Summit is rooted in the belief that progress — creative, cultural, personal — is best made with intention. The brand’s commitment to responsible drinking is woven into every touchpoint of the summit experience: from the curated Johnnie Walker Drinks Experience, designed to educate and savour rather than simply serve, to the DrinkIQ resources available throughout the event space.
DrinkIQ is Diageo’s global alcohol education platform — freely available at DrinkIQ.com — providing clear, evidence-based information about alcohol, its effects, and how to make informed choices. At AfroExchange, guests are encouraged to experience Johnnie Walker Black Label with the same mindfulness that the brand brings to its craft: slowly, purposefully, and with full appreciation for what is in the glass.
