WILD GENE FESTIVAL BRINGS TOGETHER MUSIC, ART AND COMMUNITY IN A POWERFUL CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY

The first edition of the Wild Gene Festival drew 3,500 people to LABIOMISTA, the evolving art park of Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen on the first of August. Free to attend, visitors came from across Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, United States, Senegal, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong for a rare convergence of music, art, and community. 

Set against the striking backdrop of The Battery – artist Koen Vanmechelen’s monumental studio – Wild Gene Festival brought together leading voices in music, art, and social change for an unforgettable evening of live performance and collective expression.

The night opened with broadcaster Kirsty Wark, who welcomed audiences with a message underscoring the festival’s spirit: “It is not only artists that have the wild gene, but also we are all creative in our own way, and we are celebrating this with a night of hope for the world.”

Social entrepreneur Chido Govera delivered a powerful call for connection and empathy, stating: “We need to remind each other of our humanity, especially now – the essence of who we are as people. Not everything between us needs to be transactional.” The program continued with a captivating performance by Zimbabwean singer Hope Masike, whose signature blend of traditional rhythms and contemporary voice created a spellbinding atmosphere.

The headline act featured an unprecedented collaboration between Senegalese music icon Youssou N’Dour and Koen Vanmechelen. As N’Dour and his band Le Super Etoile de Dakar delivered a high-energy set, Vanmechelen painted a nine-meter-long artwork live onstage, turning the performance into a real-time fusion of music and visual art. The result was a shared act of creation, where disciplines collided, and audiences became part of the experience. “Something really special is happening here,” N’Dour remarked from the stage.

Wild Gene Festival emerged from a spontaneous collaboration between two artists united by a shared belief in the unpredictable and the unbounded. Realised in just three months, the festival was made possible by a wide-reaching network of collaborators, including more than 45 volunteers.

To bring Wild Gene Festival to life, Studio Koen Vanmechelen and the team of Youssou N’Dour joined forces with Greenhouse Talent (best known for Gent Jazz) and Conrad Consulting. The production was powered by the dedicated volunteers of LABIOMISTA and the City of Genk, supported by young talents from Groep INTRO and the local dance collective Bounce, who handled logistics and audience coordination. At Nomadland, the culinary experience was curated by vzw Vrienden Nomadland, the Zwamvrienden, Cosmocafé, and the Wild Gene Festival Truck. Artist meals were prepared by MUNA/Het Steger in collaboration with Paco Ndiaye (Nomad Helsinki).

Wild Gene Beer – a specially brewed craft-beer by MOUTH Foundation inspired by Koen Vanmechelen’s oeuvre – was exclusively served during the Wild Gene Festival, reinforcing the event’s celebration of diversity, crossbreeding, and creative hybridity. Visual storytelling was captured by a team of photographers, videographers, and reporters – including the Genk youth platform Hete Kolen. Wild Gene Festival wasn’t outsourced; it was interwoven. It only happened because enough people believed in it and were willing to make it happen,” said Vanmechelen.

Celebration extended beyond the festival grounds. In nearby streets, including Nomadland and Marcel Habetslaan, locals gathered, food and drinks in hand, to watch the performance unfold from just outside the perimeter – creating a vibrant atmosphere that mirrored the spirit of the event itself.

For Vanmechelen: “The energy, the community engagement, the international momentum touches the very core of LABIOMISTA: connection.” Wild Gene wasn’t just an event – it was an act of imagination. “The festival showed what becomes possible when we dare to embrace hope,” said Vanmechelen. “For a moment, the impossible became tangible. Genk trembled – not just with sound, but with the belief that we can shift things together. There is definitely a future in its uniqueness and strength, and we look forward to bringing the concept elsewhere around the world.”