Hope Masike Shines at Wild Gene Festival in Belgium
Zimbabwean mbira maestro Hope Masike captivated audiences at the inaugural Wild Gene Festival in Belgium recently.
The event was held at LABIOMISTA, the expansive art park founded by celebrated Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen in Genk.
The one-day festival, co-founded by Vanmechelen and Senegalese music legend Youssou N’Dour, fused music and visual art in a dynamic, high-energy celebration of creativity and global connection.
Masike performed with her trio, featuring Tino “Blawu” Mawunganidze on bass and Othnell “Mangoma” Moyo on percussion.
Taking centre stage with her signature vocals and mbira, Masike brought Zimbabwean traditional music to the heart of Europe.
Reflecting on the experience of performing alongside Youssou N’Dour, Masike said, “I have always revered Youssou N’Dour for his wonderful music, of course, but also for what him and his generation did for African music.
It was my first time sharing the stage with him, and what a delight it was!”
The evening culminated in a powerful collaboration between N’Dour and Vanmechelen, where art and sound collided in a breathtaking live performance.
As N’Dour and his band, Le Super Etoile de Dakar, delivered a 90-minute set, Vanmechelen painted a nine-metre-long artwork live on stage.
The act symbolised the core ethos of the festival – a celebration of shared creation and global unity.
“Something really special is happening here,” remarked N’Dour during the performance.
The Wild Gene Festival, though billed as a single-night event, signals the beginning of an ongoing creative movement.
“Wild Gene Festival is born from music’s power to unite – to move us, inspire us and bring us together across borders,” N’Dour said.
Vanmechelen echoed the sentiment, calling it “a living invitation for others to join us to celebrate what unites us in a space shaped by openness and art.”
LABIOMISTA, the 24-hectare hybrid space of nature, science, and art, provided a fitting backdrop to the festival’s inaugural edition.
For Vanmechelen, the event was deeply personal. “The energy, the community engagement, the international momentum touches the very core of LABIOMISTA: connection,” he said.
“The festival showed what becomes possible when we dare to embrace hope. For a moment, the impossible became tangible. Genk trembled — not just with sound, but with the belief that we can shift things together.”
Masike, who sits on both the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and the Alliance Française de Harare boards, is one of Zimbabwe’s most acclaimed artists.
Her career spans four albums, several poetry books, and numerous collaborations across continents.
She remains a passionate advocate for the mbira – a traditional Zimbabwean instrument – both as a performer and cultural ambassador.
The Wild Gene Festival, according to its founders, is only just beginning.
With future editions anticipated, the festival promises to remain a platform for artists and audiences to explore diversity, identity, and the power of creative exchange.
