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
Ed McKeon
Ed is a music programmer who explores the aesthetic implications of shifts in understanding of history.
Jack Jacobs
Jack Jacobs is an actor and audiobook narrator.
Alex Hochuli
Alex Hochuli is a political analyst based in São Paulo.
David McGrogan
David McGrogan is a legal scholar and writer interested in the sociology of human rights law and the legitimacy of the state.
Ronan McCrea
Ronan McCrea is the author of The End of the Gay Rights Revolution, an academic, and columnist.
Roger Lancaster
Roger Lancaster is a professor of anthropology and cultural studies at George Mason University.
Thaïs Lenkiewicz
Thaïs Lenkiewicz collages science fiction, religion, conspiracy theories, game shows, and prehistory.
Tony D. Sampson
Tony D. Sampson examines the influence of intangible environments on our experiences.
Rupert Read
Philosopher Rupert Read is Co-Director of the Climate Majority Project.
Abbie Lucas
Abbie Lucas is a filmmaker, theatre director, and co-host of Art of Darkness.
Kevin Kautzman
Kevin Kautzman is a playwright and co-host of Art of Darkness.
Quentin S. Crisp
Quentin S. Crisp is the author of Hamster Dam and many other novels and short story collections.
Tim Abrahams
Tim Abrahams is an architecture critic, publisher at Machine Books, and host of the Superurbanism podcast.
Nicholas Blincoe
Nicholas Blincoe is a novelist, screenwriter, and historian.
Victoria Comstock-Kershaw
Victoria Comstock-Kershaw is an arts journalist, reviewer, and God’s favourite critic.
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind and metaphysics.
Mark Simpson
Mark Simpson is a writer and broadcaster credited (or blamed) for coining the term ‘metrosexual‘.
William Daniels
William Daniels is an artist who creates images using found materials.
Noah Perez
Noah Perez is a writer from London and an editor at The Toe Rag.
Jo Bartosch
Jo Bartosch is a journalist and women’s rights campaigner.
Bruce Benderson
Bruce Benderson is a writer and translator, best known for his novel User and memoir The Romanian.
