Koen Vanmechelen's LABIOMISTA: A 24-Hectare Art Park on Genk's Former Coal Mine
Opened in 2019, LABIOMISTA spans 24 hectares in Genk and is an art and life initiative spearheaded by Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen, who hails from Sint-Truiden, born in 1965. Once a coal mine and zoo, the site showcases the work of Swiss architect Mario Botta, featuring structures like The Ark and The Battery, which serves as Vanmechelen's studio-gallery. The area is home to sculptures such as CosmoGolem (2018) and T-Rex (2022), alongside animals including llamas and toucans. In August 2025, the Wild Gene Festival will be co-hosted by Vanmechelen and Youssou N'Dour. Vanmechelen, who started breeding chickens at age five, utilizes animal skins obtained after natural deaths. His solo exhibition at Palazzo Rota Ivancich in Venice is open until 22 November during the 61st Venice Biennale.
Fatti principali
- LABIOMISTA opened in 2019 on the former Zwartberg coal mine site in Genk, Belgium, covering 24 hectares
- Koen Vanmechelen was born in Sint-Truiden in 1965 and lives and works in Genk
- Swiss architect Mario Botta designed the complex, including The Battery studio-gallery with greenhouse and rooftop aviary
- The site operated as a zoo from 1970 to 1997 before being abandoned
- Works in the park include CosmoGolem (2018), T-Rex (2022), In Between (2022), Golden Cord (2023) and See Me (2024)
- The Wild Gene Festival, conceived with Youssou N'Dour in August 2025, featured a concert with Le Super Étoile de Dakar and a nine-metre painting
- Vanmechelen's solo show We Thought We Were Alone runs at Palazzo Rota Ivancich in Venice until 22 November during the 61st Venice Biennale
- The artist worked 13 years as a chef at two- and three-star restaurants before turning to visual art
Entità
Artisti
- Koen Vanmechelen
- Mario Botta
- Youssou N'Dour
- James Putnam
- Chido Govera
- Louis Gonnissen
- Marianne Dirkx
- Manuela De Leonardis
Istituzioni
- LABIOMISTA
- Le Super Étoile de Dakar
- Galleria degli Uffizi
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- ZKM-Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie
- Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum
- Biennale di Venezia
- Palazzo Rota Ivancich
- World Economic Forum
- Hostellerie La Feuille d'Or
- exibart
- Cosmopolitan Chicken Project
- Flanders and Limburg Tourism
- Artribune
Luoghi
- Genk
- Belgium
- Sint-Truiden
- Zwartberg
- Winterslag
- Waterschei
- Hasselt
- Dilsen-Stokkem
- Florence
- Italy
- London
- United Kingdom
- Karlsruhe
- Germany
- Shanghai
- China
- Venice
- Zimbabwe
- Africa
- Dakar
- Senegal
- Brussels
- Ethiopia