Planning a large-scale event is not for the faint of heart. There is an incredible payoff when the whole thing goes according to plan, although getting to that point requires a lot of logistics and work behind the scenes. But when it’s beyond a success, it affects more than the people involved in the planning; it can light up an entire community. The artist Enzo knows this well; last fall, he successfully planned and ran a new street art festival called the Enz’Horgues Festival.
The festival’s name is a portmanteau of Enzo and Horgues, a small village in southwest France where the event took place. Over two days, eight artists adorned the walls of an old school that needed repainting. The artists involved were: Madvaillan; V.K.; Calicho; Georgia Violett; Trasheer; Fanny Granon; Liza Vivaldi; and Enzo himself. They cloaked the walls in brilliant blue designs, which was the color theme of the 2024 event.
“The mission was to bring street art where there is not any,” Enzo tells My Modern Met, “and connecting people who usually don’t know about this movement to become something familiar.” He worked closely with the mayor of Horgues to make this happen. With community in mind, the festival hosted many activities that invited attendees to be part of the festival. They could spray paint on a wall and participate in art battles. The focus on attendees paid off. Enz’Horgues Festival exceeded its attendance goals and, most importantly, it helped everyday people get excited about street art—and the next year’s edition of Enz’Horgues Festival.
My Modern Met spoke with Enzo about the inaugural Enz’Horgues Festival, including how it came to be, what they learned, and what will be incorporated into next year’s event, which will happen September 13 and 14, 2025. Read on for our exclusive interview.
What was the inspiration for Enz’Horgues Festival?
This was my first ever event as a curator. As an artist, I’ve done different festivals in the United States, like painting for Awall Projects in Miami during Miami Art Week or the Bushwick Collective block party in Brooklyn, New York. The inspiration came from those events, especially The Bushwick Collective, created by a friend, Joe Ficalora, 14 years ago, and it’s still running. Being a part of that showed me behind the scenes how that was going on, all the energy, the sharings and the love for the people, artist or public, and the behavior, how to drive people for creating an event.
Horgues is a small village in the southwest of France, where street art is not as popular as in big cities like Paris, London, or New York. I worked on differents projects with them, and Jean-Michel Ségneré (the mayor) told me they have an old school in the village that has to be painted, so maybe we can bring some of your friends and create an event. It would be for both sides, a colorful school and entertainment in the village for the people. That’s how the event was created, with this opportunity of the old school in the village needing to be refreshed. We decided to take my name, Enzo, and connect it with the village of Horgues and created simply Enz’Horgues.
How would you describe the festival’s overall vibe?
The overall vibe was crazy, really electric. All the people loved our event, especially the kids. We expected 500 people during the weekend, and we stopped counting entries at 3,000 people.
What was the setting of Hourgues like?
The setting of Horgues was the old school in the village, where all the old people went as pupils. This is a closed enclosure in an open-air space. Perfect for families coming with the kids and letting them go around without stress. All the artists were living in a guest house close to a castle in the heart of the Pyrenees (cross-border mountain between France and Spain) and it was a nice spot to make artists friends discover the beauty of typical French southwestern backcountry.
How did you select the artists you invited?
Artists selected for this first edition were all friends to me. I needed to have people I trusted and people that trusted me. I selected different artists’ styles and backgrounds, but the common point was kindness and accessibility. The main event has to be a family event, so they also had to love people and love the kids, wanting to bring happiness and joy during a weekend as people discovered a new discipline, street art.
The lineup was with American, French, and a Mexican artist. All had differents styles, from darker graffiti vandal backgrounds like Madvaillan of New York, to mainstream bold gallery art like Trasheer from Mexico. There was Madvaillan, V.K., Calicho, Georgia Violett (all from New York), Trasheer from Mexico, Fanny Granon, Liza Vivaldi, and me from France.
The event was covered by my close friend T.K. Mills as a journalist, creator, and owner of UP Magazine in New York, so even on a first edition, we created an international street art festival with a two continents media exposure.
Can you break down the events of the festival? Beyond mural painting, what other things were happening?
We wanted to create real entertainment with activities in the festival, thinking first about the kids. We had two days of festival, Saturday and Sunday. When people came by, they could discover artists’ paintings on top of their lifts, seeing the magic of painting happening. Also, they could try spray painting for the kids on canvases, then land their mark on a concrete wall in the school. It was dedicated to the public and the visitors were a full part of the festival, like the artists.
There was a show with dancers’ school, le Renc’Art de la Danse, run by professional dancer Marine Cazalas. During the dance, there was a show where all dancers were painted by artists, creating unique suits for each dancer linked with their choreography. We had an art battle with artists, two artists each with a canvas and spray paints, 20 minutes of battle. On Sunday, artists with the kids were battling two versus two, inspired by the incredible Secret Walls. Voting was done by the public with an applause meter.
Was there anything that surprised you during the event?
What really surprised us was the awesome crowd of people and all the energy we could feel, as artists and as visitors. Both sides. All the kids were running up to us, and we spent Saturday signing tee shirts and taking pictures from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. nonstop. My girlfriend Camille brought me some sugar and water to help me stay awake during this intense rhythm. They tried to collect us as they collect Pokémon.
All of these kids came by discovering this universe, and a lot that came the first day came back on the second one. At first they just knew me as an artist, at the end they knew all the artists and different styles. It was the rockstar life, and everybody enjoyed it. We are really proud of the vibes we brought to the festival for the kids and the families.
What have you learned from the first Enz’Horgues Festival that you’ll incorporate into the future years of the festival?
What we learned about this first edition of the Enz’Horgues Festival is that art has no borders. Connecting two continents and two cultures in the heart of the Pyrenees (that is not a known place for street art) was crazy for both sides, artists and public. We were like a family of 3,000 people during a weekend, and nobody wanted it to end. A lot of people I saw after the festival were like, “Hey, when will be your second Enz’Horgues edition!?” It was still not even in the plans.
So yes, now it’s official: We are running a second edition on September 13 and 14, 2025. The event is based on a different color each year as a theme. The first edition was blue, and this next one will be orange. All the murals are still available to visit, but a month before, everything will be covered with orange paint to let new pieces come.
My aim is to continue with the same vibes as a big family event, with new artists, new activities in the festival, and trying our best as usual to make the kids dream. It’s only the beginning.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Enz’Horgues: Instagram
Enzo: Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Enzo.
Related Articles:
Street Art Festival Breathes New Life Into Semi-Abandoned Italian Town
Black Artists Revitalize the Streets of Detroit With a Colorful Mural Festival
Street Artist Creates 80-Foot-Tall Sculpture for Valencia’s Fallas Festival
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
