Interiors, Art & Design Itinerary
At Keythorpe Hall, we love interiors, art & design and have assembled an all-star cast to present an immersive and intimate set of masterclasses to inspire you.
Arrival Day
Pre-dinner Contemporary Art Talk by Mark Godfrey
Dr. Mark Godfrey is an art historian and curator. Having taught art history at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, from 2007-2021, he was a Senior Curator at Tate Modern where he organised retrospectives of Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Olafur Eliasson, Richard Hamilton, as well as 'Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power', which was listed as the most important exhibition in Tate Modern's first twenty years. Since leaving Tate, he has organised exhibitions at the Fondation Van Gogh in Arles, the Wexner Center in Ohio, at Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples, and LGDR Gallery in Paris. He speaks regularly at many museums and universities globally including the Guggenheim, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Broad Art Museum in Los Angeles, and Secession in Vienna. He has written essays in over 50 catalogues and was awarded the Absolut Art Criticism prize in 2015. He was a jury member for the Venice Biennale in 2017. An expert on contemporary art, he is currently working on exhibitions for the Whitechapel, the Fondazione Prada, and for the Royal Academy.
Day 1
Interior Design Masterclass with Rita Konig
Spend the morning with Rita, who's effortless style has made her one of today’s most sought after interior designers. Her designs and columns often feature in Vogue, The New York Times, House & Garden, Domino, T Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. With a studio based in London and projects across the globe, she is an expert at bringing refined, relaxed comfort to a home, and is passionate about sharing her expertise and empowering people to decorate and design their homes themselves.
Wild Garden Design with our Head Gardener and Ethnobotanist Claudio Bincoletto
Once the forager for the Italian army, Claudio has a wealth of experience teaching at Petersham Nurseries, as speaker for the RHS and doing wild food cooking demonstrations at food & country shows across the UK. Claudio will take you on an educational tour of the grounds to explore the why and how of biodiversity, examine the wild food growing around us and will finish in the walled garden where we grow the fruit and vegetables you'll be eating!
Pre-dinner Vermouth Making with Bert Blaize
Bert Blaize was young sommelier of the year in 2018 and is the author of Which Wine When. Together with Bert you will create your very own Vermouth, made out of local Leicestershire wine and botanicals foraged on the walk with Claudio. Once you have created your vermouth, Bert will show you how to put together the perfect pre-dinner cocktail!
Day 2
Interior architecture masterclass with Edward Bulmer - Architectural historian & interior designer
Edward Bulmer is one of the UK’s leading interior designers and architectural historians, specialising in the restoration and decoration of historic buildings. After studying History of Art at university, Edward trained under legendary designer David Mlinaric CBE, as well as working for Alec Cobbe, and Gervase Jackson-Stops OBE, who was architectural advisor to the National Trust. Alongside running his own paint company, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, Edward has led a highly successful design team for over 30 years, working on some of England’s greatest country houses as well as a range of private and commercial projects including Goodwood, the Tower of London, Chequers and the Arts Club.
Botanical metal art masterclass & floral tablescaping with Jess Wheeler
Jess Wheeler is a designer and artist based in North Wales. Once a successful set designer, Jess’ practice now focuses on her passion for metalwork and homeware design. Her cross disciplinary approach has a unified, nostalgic, nature driven narrative inspired by the landscape around her, with her work exploring the beauty and fragility of our natural world. Jess is fascinated by the ways in which a rigid material can be manipulated into an intricate organic form, exemplified in her much sought after delicately crafted brass sconces and chandeliers. To inspire your artwork you will gather botanicals during a walk in the garden and learn to turn it into metal art by Jess. She will then show you how to create a beautiful tablescape using both real flowers and metal art.
Day 3
Departure after a blowout brunch - a smorgasbord of sweet and savoury delights with a Keythorpe Mimosa or home grown Bloody Mary...
