Verdurin /vəʁdyrɛ̃/ is a project space in East London hosted by Pierre d’Alancaisez and programmed with friends.
Verdurin presents an idiosyncratic mix of events, courses, and exhibitions addressing urgent cultural, political, and philosophical questions through visual culture.
Verdurin is also a concept store and publisher, providing the essentials an aesthete will need to survive cultural doomsday: daring literature, artefacts deserving of perdurance, and artisanal provisions.
d’Alancaisez was first inspired to marshal an audience to discuss politics, art, and ideas critically in response to the failure of institutions and the breakdown in the cultural order following the pandemic.
The name Verdurin is borrowed from Proust’s literary character Mme Verdurin who in À la recherche du temps perdu hosts a literary salon. Verdurin today carries on her spirit of conviviality and mutual edification.
We are happy to receive pitches and ideas for events, performances, launches, screenings, talks relating to art, culture, politics, and philosophy.
Team
Pierre d’Alancaisez
Pierre d’Alancaisez is a curator and critic, and the founder of Verdurin.
Amir Naaman
Amir Naaman is a novelist and a personal trainer.
Nina Power
Nina Power is a philosopher and critic.
Daniel Neill
Daniel is a writer, and protégé at Verdurin.
Travis Jeppesen
Travis Jeppesen is the author of numerous books and the creator of object-oriented writing.
Emma Bielecki
Emma Bielecki is a lecturer, writer, and researcher. She splits her time between London and nineteenth-century Paris.
Lola Salem
Lola Salem is a researcher and cultural strategist.
Artists, contributors, guests
Carl Abrahamsson
Carl Abrahamsson is a Swedish author writing on occulture and magico-anthropology.
Daniel Howard James
Daniel James is an independent researcher working on a conspiracy-free theory of ‘consumer-communism’.
Rupert Read
Philosopher Rupert Read is Co-Director of the Climate Majority Project.
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind and metaphysics.
Philip Cunliffe
Philip Cunliffe is Associate Professor in International Relations at UCL, co-founder of Bungacast, and author of multiple books on international politics and security.
Tony D. Sampson
Tony D. Sampson examines the influence of intangible environments on our experiences.
Justin Smith-Ruiu
Justin Smith-Ruiu is a writer and philosopher at the Université Paris Cité. He is the founder of The Hinternet.
Ben Cobley
Ben Cobley is a writer and journalist.
Benjamin Studebaker
Benjamin Studebaker is a political theorist.
Malcom Kyeyune
Malcom Kyeyune is a writer living in Uppsala, Sweden.
Quentin S. Crisp
Quentin S. Crisp is the author of Hamster Dam and many other novels and short story collections.
Helen Rollins
Helen Rollins is a writer and filmmaker interested in the intersection between art and philosophy.
Aimee Armstrong
Aimee Armstrong’s work portrays modern relationships in a post-internet, post-woke, post-infographic world.
Alfie Bown
Alfie Bown is the editor of Sublation Magazine, founder of Everyday Analysis, and a lecturer in digital media.
Suzanne Newcombe
Suzanne Newcombe is a senior lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and honorary director of Inform.
William Daniels
William Daniels is an artist who creates images using found materials.
Kristin Milward
Kristin Milward is an actress known for her work on the stage.
Rose Lyddon
Rose Lyddon writes about history, theology, and adventures.
Blake Smith
Blake Smith is a historian and translator who lives in Chicago.
Abbie Lucas
Abbie Lucas is a filmmaker, theatre director, and co-host of Art of Darkness.
Thomas Peermohamed Lambert
Thomas Peermohamed Lambert is a novelist and literary scholar.
