Koen Vanmechelen
Where Art, Science and Society Converge
Koen Vanmechelen (1965, Sint-Truiden) is an internationally acclaimed artist working at the intersection of art, science, and society. His work explores themes such as identity, diversity, and human rights, often through interdisciplinary collaborations.
As co-founder of The Walking Egg, he connects artistic vision with medical science to address global fertility challenges.
His projects have been exhibited worldwide, from Florence to Havana, and he is a frequent speaker at leading platforms such as the World Economic Forum and TED. Through his work, Vanmechelen invites reflection on how we live, connect, and evolve as a global community.
Who is Koen Vanmechelen
Koen Vanmechelen was born in St-Truiden Belgium in 1965. He is one of the most versatile thinkers of these times. He is situated at the confluence of art, science, philosophy and community.
As an eternal migrant, he travels the world in search of answers to fundamental questions concerning issues that are both timeless and acutely relevant today, such as identity, diversity, globalisation and human rights. He incorporates these answers, which are always works in progress, into enigmatic artworks and projects. His quests and interdisciplinary projects encourage collaboration and the creation of awareness and movement within communities around the world. Together, they reflect on the global legacy of humanity and explore the various ways in which we choose to live and evolve together.
In 2010, he founded the non-profit organisation The Walking Egg together with Willem Ombelet and Rudi Campo. The Walking Egg NPO arose from the mutual curiosity between two fields, both of which begin with a sense of amazement and a compulsion to understand human identity: art and the medical sciences, specifically the field of fertility. As well as creating an illustrated magazine (The Walking Egg), this crossover between the fertility project led to an artistic-scientific project in Arusha, Tanzania. This marked the beginning of a focus on (in)fertility in developing countries.
In 2010, Koen received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hasselt, and in 2013 he won the prestigious Golden Nica Hybrid Art Award in Linz and the Global Artist Award in Venice. He has presented his work on almost every continent, including at the Uffizi Gallery (Florence), the V&A Museum (London), the ZKM (Karlsruhe) and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana (Cuba). He has made regular appearances at the Venice Biennale and his work has also been exhibited at the Moscow, Havana, Dakar and Poznań biennials, the Guangzhou triennial, the Shanghai World Expo 2010, Manifesta 9 and dOCUMENTA (13). A highly sought-after speaker, he has addressed the World Economic Forum (2008) and various TED conferences.
