In 2010, an idea was born, the idea of creating an event that both celebrated Normandy as a territory and highlighted the Impressionist heritage and the vibrant contemporary art scene.
Normandy is a land of inspiration, as evidenced by its Impressionist heritage as well as the vitality of its contemporary art scene. With a decidedly multidisciplinary approach, Normandie Impressionniste celebrates this richness by inviting visitors to discover artistic creation from Impressionism to the present day and encouraging them to visit art and cultural venues throughout Normandy.
The Impressionists, in their time, adopted a forward-looking approach, resolutely open to novelty, both in their areas of interest and their painting techniques. They renewed motifs, embraced the techniques of their era, and also acted collectively by creating an artists' cooperative. Their works invited their contemporaries to look at new subjects. This great artistic adventure is explored in the very places where it took place in the exhibitions offered by Normandy's museums. And because today, too, artists are renewing our ways of seeing and thinking about the world, Normandy Impressionist is part of the dynamic of its time and, in turn, invites artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and others to present their most recent creations.
Normandie Impressionniste is a Public Interest Group made up of 35 local authorities in Normandy. Its nine founding members are the Normandy Region, the Rouen Normandy Metropolitan Area, the Eure Department, the Seine-Maritime Department, the City of Rouen, the City of Caen, the City of Le Havre, Le Havre Seine Métropole and the Caen la Mer Urban Community.
Normandy celebrates ImpressionismNormandy celebrates ImpressionismNormandy celebrates Impressionism
Normandy celebrates ImpressionismNormandy celebrates ImpressionismNormandy celebrates Impressionism
The 2026 edition
From May 29 to September 27, 2026, Normandie Impressionniste presented its 6th edition throughout the region, with 75 artistic projects deployed in 43 municipalities. For four months, exhibitions, installations, shows, performances, residencies, and participatory projects invited the public to discover Normandy through a dialogue between Impressionist heritage and contemporary creation.
Under the theme "A Possible Garden," this new edition explored the garden as a space for creation, experimentation, and transformation. Far from being limited to its pictorial representation, the garden was considered as a living territory, a space where art and nature meet, but also as a place where our relationship to the landscape, to living things, and to the transformations of our environment are questioned.
The centenary of Claude Monet's death
The year 2026 also marked a major moment in art history: the centenary of Claude Monet's death in Giverny. A founding figure of Impressionism, Monet maintained a unique relationship with the garden for over forty years, gradually shaping it into a veritable living work of art.
For this 6th edition, Monet's legacy served as a starting point rather than an end goal. Many of the invited artists embraced his themes, his techniques, and his relationship to landscape, confronting them with contemporary artistic challenges and practices.
Monumental installations, digital works, photography, painting, sculpture, video, performances, plant creations, and participatory works have taken over museums, gardens, monuments, public spaces, and natural sites. Some works were designed specifically for their host location, transforming the Normandy region into a veritable open-air exhibition space.
An edition on a Normandy scale
True to its ambition to circulate art and audiences across territories, Normandie Impressionniste has once again brought together museums, art centers, communities, associations, cultural venues and local stakeholders around a common program.
This territorial dimension is central to the festival's identity: it allows artists and their works to be discovered in sometimes unexpected locations and encourages new connections between the different regions of Normandy. In 2026, the 75 projects in the program thus formed a regional circuit, combining major exhibitions, creations in public spaces, one-off events, and projects closely connected to local residents.
This 6th edition also provided an opportunity to continue the festival's work in support of contemporary art, by juxtaposing it with the history of Impressionism. While Monet served as a key theme throughout the edition, the invited artists were primarily encouraged to extend, shift, or reinterpret his legacy from the perspective of contemporary artistic and environmental concerns.
An edition driven by the public
Over four months, 1.5 million visits were recorded during this 6th edition. This success demonstrates the public's interest in a program that combines heritage, contemporary creation, and exploration of the region.
Beyond the exhibitions, the festival offered numerous opportunities to meet the artists, discover the works in a new light, and participate in collaborative projects. Shows, performances, conferences, workshops, and installations all contributed to making this edition a highlight of Normandy's cultural life.
With this 6th edition, Normandie Impressionniste has thus pursued its ambition: to make the impressionist heritage a starting point to look differently at the contemporary world and to continue to make Normandy a territory of creation, encounters and artistic experimentation.
See you in 2028!