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On August 1, 2025, artist Koen Vanmechelen and Senegalese music legend Youssou N'Dour came together for the first Wild Gene Festival at LABIOMISTA, Vanmechelen’s art and nature park in Genk, Belgium. Their collaboration gathered thousands of people around a shared question: What happens when different genes, cultures and species meet in a spirit of generosity, curiosity, and shared becoming.
On the second floor, an installation documents this encounter: while Youssou N'Dour and Le Super Etoile de Dakar performed, Koen Vanmechelen painted a monumental 9-metre canvas in real time — merging sound with gesture, rhythm with colour, music with meaning. A celebration of identity, creativity and the transformative power of art.
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