MIMOS Festival

A unique festival in Europe

Created in September 1983 by Ginette and Paul Tellier, managers of the municipal cultural center, the MIMOS Festival was born at the Palais des Fêtes in Périgueux with four shows that immediately captivated the audience. In 1987, Peter Bu became artistic director, and the festival was renamed MIMOS, quickly becoming one of the most important mime and gesture arts festivals in Europe and the only one in France dedicated to this aesthetic.

Gesture arts in all their diversity

The festival celebrates the diversity of movement arts rooted in the body: mime, gestural theater, dance, circus, object theater, puppetry, and performance. Every summer, for five days, the squares, alleys, parks, and performance venues of Périgueux transform into open-air stages where international artists and emerging companies mingle.

Training and transmission

Beyond the shows, MIMOS offers training, master classes, and workshops for professionals or future professionals. Since 2019, the festival has hosted the Summer Academy of Gesture Arts, reinforcing its mission of transmission and research in the field of body arts.

L'Odyssée, a conventioned stage

The festival is now supported by L'Odyssée, a conventioned stage in Périgueux, which handles the artistic direction and production of the event throughout the year, in close collaboration with the City of Périgueux and institutional partners.