Posted on 4 July 2026:
Vers et Voix International Festival 2026 – Château de l’Étang, Bagnolet (France)
In the enchanting gardens of the 19th‑century Château de l’Étang, Bagnolet, France, became a sanctuary of words and rhythms on June 12 and 13, 2026. Conceived by Franco‑Algerian poet Leïla El Mahi and supported by the city, the Vers et Voix International Festival unfolded as a luminous celebration of poetry, music, fashion and live performance.
This edition, themed “What Unites Us,” gathered voices from France, Italy, Algeria, Belgium, Argentina and New York, alongside diverse French regions.
Each artist carried a unique language and sensibility, weaving together a tapestry of dialogue, fraternity, and creativity. The festival’s strength lay in its cultural diversity, transforming Bagnolet into a crossroads of shared values and artistic communion.
Briefly yet resplendent, the 2026 festival confirmed its international ambition: to open hearts, bridge cultures and let verse and voice resonate beneath the timeless trees of the Château.
Vers et Voix – A Festival of Living Art
At the Château de l’Étang, Bagnolet, the Vers et Voix International Festival unfolded as a sensory garden of imagination. Beyond the main stage, art became tactile and immediate: painters, sculptors, and calligraphers transformed the castle grounds into a Living Canvas, where poetry breathed through color and form.
Fashion shimmered as visual verse—designers like Larissa Noury unveiled flowing gowns on the outdoor red carpet, garments that embodied freedom and creative flight. Inside, literary salons invited visitors to wander among bookstalls, converse with authors, and join spontaneous writing circles beneath the château’s ornate ceilings.
What sets Vers et Voix apart is its radical inclusivity. Entirely free, eco‑conscious, and open to all, it dissolves the barriers of elite art circles. With fresh local food, convivial exchanges, and a relaxed garden‑party atmosphere, the festival becomes not just an event but a communal celebration—where anyone stepping from Parisian streets enters a world of pure imagination.
Vers et Voix – Bridges of Poetry
Leïla El Mahi, poet and president of the Vers et Voix Association, envisioned poetry as a universal language of emotion and fraternity. Since its inception, the festival has welcomed voices across cultures, generations, and disciplines—poets, musicians, painters, and designers—into a free space of creation and dialogue.
The inaugural 2025 edition, graced by Claire Sarti, granddaughter of Paul Éluard, marked a luminous beginning.
In 2026, Internationally acclaimed artist Larissa Noury’s living gowns once again illuminated the Château de l’Étang, her art merging color, fashion and poetry into moving tableaux.
At the festival, renowned poet Gisèle Mayet‑Albagnac unveiled a luminous surprise—a new poem dedicated to artist Larissa Noury —calling her “an exceptional artist… modest as her talent is immense.” With words that evoked citadels of light and refuges of beauty, she painted Larissa as both modest and immense, a creator whose canvases transport viewers into dreamlike realms of sea, sky and cosmos.
In Gisèle’s tribute, Larissa’s work became more than visual—it was a journey inward, a collective nourishment of humanity through infinite beauty–see the verses:
“In an immaterial, vaporous, intangible realm, — Made of gradations of gold, shades of blue, — The colors of Provence, of imperishable flowers,
We are embarked on the sandy waves — Of a vast, mad love, of depth, — Of inner strength, of spirituality.
A human collective, imbued with modesty, — Nourishes humanity with infinite Beauty…”
Celebrated Larissa Noury’s silk paintings, iridescent fabrics, and ethereal nymphs, weaving together art, couture and spirituality into a single tapestry of wonder.
Vers et Voix continues to weave art with civic themes—raising voices against violence, fostering inclusivity, and proving that poetry, in all its forms, is a citadel of light.
Vers et Voix – Toward Tomorrow
Building on its radiant success, the Château de l’Étang will once again open its gates to the next edition of Vers et Voix. Passionate about literature and the performing arts, the festival promises a welcoming stage where every voice, every creation, and every dream may be shared in a spirit of friendship and accessibility.
Images: Larissa Noury
