From May 9 to 17, 2026, the Raizet district of Les Abymes will play host to WAL FEST 2026, billed as Guadeloupe’s first major urban art festival. For ten days, 15 artists from Guadeloupe and elsewhere will create 12 monumental frescoes. The aim is clear: to turn the neighborhood into a free, permanent, open-air museum.
The Abymes district at the heart of the project
In Raizet, the walls of the Les Esses 1, 2 and 3 residences and of Quartiers 1 and 2 of the SIG will be more than just supports. They will become the visible heart of a cultural project designed in collaboration with residents, neighborhood associations and the Raizet socio-cultural center. WAL FEST 2026 is not just about showing finished works. It wants to make visible the artistic gesture, the live work, the exchanges, the hesitations and the encounters.
Co-organized by the WAL association, Wad Al Lub, and the Société Immobilière de Guadeloupe, the event is based on a powerful idea: to transform a 1960s neighborhood into an open-air art trail. According to the dossier submitted by the organization, this transformation is part of a threefold logic: social inclusion, local development and the democratization of artistic creation.
15 artists, 12 frescoes and an international scene together
For ten days, 15 international artists will take over Le Raizet to create 12 monumental live frescoes. The announced program includes artists from Guadeloupe, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean.
Among the artists announced are Steek, Al Pacman, Pauline and Mathilde Bonnet, the 4KG collective, Pock, Ti Latour, Greeffe, Kilia Llano, Hopare, Kaldea, Zailfana, Does and Zurik. The presence of established artists alongside Guadeloupean talent creates a dialogue between various practices: graffiti, muralism, painting, illustration, memory, abstraction, portraiture, public art and urban cultures. The festival also features a mixed program, with as many female as male muralists in this first edition.
WAL FEST 2026: A program designed for local residents, schoolchildren and families
WAL FEST 2026 opens on Saturday May 9 with an official launch featuring artistic performances, music and a screening of Gérard Maximin’s documentary Mas Ka Klé, La porte du retour. Tuesday May 12 will be dedicated to schoolchildren, with guided tours of the art trail, meetings with artists and educational workshops.
On Thursday May 14, an eco-citizen day will be organized in partnership with Cap Excellence. It will combine environmental awareness, civic action and reflection on the territory. On Friday May 15, starting at 7 p.m., the lewoz, a traditional Guadeloupean cultural evening, will honor local heritage with the participation of pô groups from Le Raizet.
On May 16 and 17, the WAL FEST Village, also known as Vilaj Papyon, will take place from 10 am to 6 pm. The village will feature three main hubs: employment, training, crafts, exhibitions, prevention and awareness-raising. From 4 p.m., the stage will host musical entertainment, dance performances and a fashion show, in partnership with the Conseil Départemental and the ONTGABF association.
Urban art as an educational tool
WAL FEST isn’t just about frescoes. From May 9 to 17, introductory urban art workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the heart of the residences concerned. They will be led by Guadeloupe artists including Skem, Macfa, 1So, Art’So, Yeswoo, Karey and Sek. These workshops will enable children, young people and adults to understand the codes of urban art, experiment with techniques and engage in dialogue with professional artists. The stated aim is to stimulate creativity, boost self-confidence and open participants up to other artistic cultures.
This educational dimension gives WAL FEST 2026 a special significance. Audiences don’t just come to watch. They can learn, question, participate and situate themselves in a broader artistic history.
A citizens' village for jobs, culture and rights
Vilaj Papyon gives the festival a social and economic dimension. The employment and training center will be offering meetings with local companies, career advice, exchanges with recruiters, a discovery of professions and integration paths.
Another section will be devoted to heritage and culture, with local crafts, Guadeloupean know-how, exhibitions and demonstrations. An information area will also focus on access to health services, social rights, assistance for people on minimum social benefits and the elderly, as well as road safety education.
WAL, an established player in Guadeloupe's urban art scene
Created in 2014, the WAL association has established itself as a key player in the development of urban art in Guadeloupe. Its Le Mur Guadeloupe project, launched in 2023 in the Dothémare area of Les Abymes, has already welcomed 22 artists in residence since September 2023. With WAL FEST 2026, the association is taking things to the next level. The event does more than simply exhibit artists: it sets up a route through an inhabited neighborhood, involving residents and making urban art part of a territorial strategy.
If this first edition of WAL FEST lives up to its promise, Le Raizet could become the starting point for an event that would travel to another intercommunal region each year. So the question remains: how far can Guadeloupe turn its walls into a common language of creation, memory and future?
📸 ©WAL FEST
WAL FEST 2026 is an urban art festival to be held in Raizet, Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, from May 9 to 17, 2026. It includes the creation of 12 monumental frescoes by 15 artists from Guadeloupe and beyond.
WAL FEST 2026 will take place in Le Raizet, in the commune of Les Abymes. The frescoes will be created in the heart of the Les Esses 1, 2 and 3 residences and in Quartiers 1 and 2 of the SIG.
WAL FEST 2026 aims to transform Le Raizet into a free, permanent, open-air museum. The project combines artistic creation, resident participation, educational workshops, a citizens’ village, employment, training and neighborhood enhancement.
