Impressions — Festival of Arts of Vernon Giverny

A festival born from an artist's vision

In 2019, Franco-Russian pianist Mikhail Rudy, an internationally renowned artist with a repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary, founded the Impressions festival in Vernon and Giverny. His vision: to create an event where different art forms dialogue freely — music, dance, theater, literature, poetry, visual arts, and installations — in the historic and luminous places that inspired Claude Monet and the Impressionist painters.

The Vernon-Giverny territory, the cradle of Norman Impressionism with its hillsides, Seine reflections, and legendary gardens, offers an exceptional natural and heritage setting for this multidisciplinary festival. The Collégiale Notre-Dame de Vernon, the Musée des Impressionnismes de Giverny, and the city's gardens and cultural spaces become the stages for a program based on original creation and unprecedented artistic encounters.

Multidisciplinarity at the heart of the project

The Impressions festival stands out for its resolutely multidisciplinary and cross-cutting approach. Each edition offers a program combining piano recitals, choreographic creations, literary readings, film screenings, and visual installations, often merged in hybrid performances where music, image, and movement fuse.

During the inaugural edition in 2019, Marie-Agnès Gillot, a star dancer from the Paris Opera, performed alongside Mikhail Rudy on piano and video artist Jacques Perconte, creating a work blending dance, music, and digital art. Actress Brigitte Fossey offered a musical reading of Maupassant's texts at the Musée des Impressionnismes. Mikhail Rudy performed "Chagall, la Couleur des Sons," a recital accompanied by a film screening on the painter's universe.

Visual artists Arotin & Serghei presented the installation "Impressions, Dialogue avec Monet," creating a visual bridge between the Impressionist heritage and contemporary creation. The festival also hosted actor Michel Bouquet for literary encounters.

A reach between local heritage and international excellence

The Impressions festival aims to appeal to all audiences — novices and connoisseurs alike — attracting both local residents and visitors from the Paris region and abroad, many of whom come to Giverny in Monet's footsteps. By fostering dialogue between the arts in a territory where light, nature, and painting are intimately linked, Impressions extends and renews the Impressionist heritage with contemporary artistic tools.

Supported by the City of Vernon and cultural institutions of the region, the festival is part of the cultural dynamic of the Norman Seine Valley, alongside the Musée des Impressionnismes and the Fondation Claude Monet, strengthening the artistic appeal of this major French heritage site.