ABOUT
A celebration of identity, creativity, and connection
Wild Gene Festival is a vibrant explosion of art, music, and shared humanity - the spark that marks the beginning of an extraordinary collaboration between renowned artist Koen Vanmechelen and legendary musician-activist Youssou N’Dour.
On 1 August 2025, LABIOMISTA in Genk - Vanmechelen’s 24-hectare living artwork - becomes a one-day open-air stage for rhythm, colour, movement and meaning.
This is not a mere festival. It is the first heartbeat in a creative journey that will continue to grow, evolve, and gather energy long after the day ends.
Rooted in the belief that diversity is life's wildest force, Wild Gene brings people together from every background - to move, to wonder. It celebrates the power of difference and the beauty of connection.
This is more than a one-off. This is a living collaboration where art and music, people and planet, cultures and generations cross paths.
We invite you to celebrate the spark with us. And to carry it forward — in your imagination, your conversations, and your acts of creation.
A UNIQUE COLLABORATION
At the heart of the Wild Gene festival is a once-in-a-lifetime live collaboration.
As Youssou N’Dour and Le Super Étoile de Dakar perform, Koen Vanmechelen will paint a monumental 9-metre canvas in real time - merging sound with gesture, rhythm with colour, music with meaning.
This act of co-creation embodies the spirit of Wild Gene: a bold, joyful exchange between disciplines, where expression flows freely, differences are celebrated, and art becomes a shared language of unity.
The program also features the soulful, powerful energy of Hope Masike Trio from Zimbabwe, local food and drink at Nomadland, and the specially brewed cosmopolitan Wild Gene Beer on tap.
ROOTED IN A GLOBAL VISION
Wild Gene Festival grows from the meeting of two expansive worldviews: Koen Vanmechelen’s Cosmopolitan Renaissance, a philosophy of biocultural diversity, interdependence and creative evolution; and Youssou N’Dour’s Éclairer le Monde (Light the World), a musical vision of unity, justice, and joy.
Together, these visions invite local and global to gather in a spirit of generosity, curiosity, and shared becoming.
To celebrate what connects us
To explore what shapes us, and
To imagine what we might become, together.
At the heart of both philosophies lies a single truth:
Every organism is looking for another organism to survive.
Connection is not just beautiful.
It’s vital. It is urgent. It is life.
Wild Gene Festival is an offering from two artists to the world.
A spark of joy. A moment of connection.
An invitation to light the world through creativity, courage, and co-existence.
The beginning of something still unfolding.
