The House of Peroni launches a month of exciting cultural events

The House of Peroni, a thoroughly modern transmedia, experiential project and the brainchild of the Peroni brand, has taken a month-long residency at the palatial 41 Portland Place. The aim of this bi-annual exhibition, according to editor and art director John-Paul Pryor, is to celebrate the “profound and positive creative impact Italy has had on the world stage” and to shine some light on the new wave of a burgeoning contemporary, creative revolution that recalls the explosive cultural paradigms of Rome in the 60s.

This is certainly a big project, aiming to bring together a whole host of influential Italian provocateurs whose creative minds are, supposedly, rewriting tradition and shaping the cultural landscape of Italy. Such figures include architect Adrea Mortgante, light installation artist Carlo Bernadini, designer Giovanni Alessi, photographer Martina Scorcucchi and, perhaps most excitingly, the Michelin-starred Costardi brothers, who have created a bespoke menu for the house. Over the month of July, this magnificent gallery/exhibit/pop-up restaurant and bar will play host to various workshops, demonstrations, speeches, classes and other unannounced events for the paying public to enjoy. All the events range between 15 and 20 pounds, and include mixology classes with Gerry Calabrese, fashion workshops from the brilliant Haizhen Wang and Colin McDowell, a class on “personalised chair design”, and edible experiences from the Costardi brothers.

The building, down the road from the Chinese and Polish embassies, is superb. Set on various levels and including a very chic garden, this is a perfectly unusual venue for an equally unusual project. Walking in, eyes are immediately drawn to the wonderfully strange installation piece entitled Giant Decollage by Ludovica Gioscia, which is bright, vivid and serves as a striking contrast to the Edwardian interior. From there, visitors are invited to explore and experience other weird and wonderful art. Although it is too soon to predict how successfully Peroni will showcase contemporary Italian culture, they inarguably have the right starting blocks. It will be interesting to see if the House of Peroni will avoid being labelled pretentious, or worse simply confusing the public, but the heart and ambition will most likely prevail.

Verdict: [rating=4] 

Ben Corrigan

 For further information on House of Peroni events and to book tickets visit here.