Art Madrid Contemporary Art Fair announces the application for its 19th edition to be celebrates from March 6th to 10th, 2024, as part of the already consolidated Madrid Contemporary Art Week, at the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles. Galleries interested in participating can send their applications until September 29th, 2023.

In a privileged location such as the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles, Art Madrid consolidates every year a greater number of public (more than 20,000 visitors in each of its last six editions) and new collectors interested in participating in such a long-awaited appointment with contemporary art.

Partial view of Art Madrid. Contemporary Art Fair. 18th Edition. 2023

Art Madrid is a fair that defines itself as a proposal close to the public and the reality of the contemporary art world; aware of the future challenges and the positive impact of initiatives like its own, it returns in each of its editions, betting on the most current artistic production. With this commitment, Art Madrid develops a program of activities that takes place throughout the month of February, designed for all audiences, with the purpose of contributing to the dissemination, reflection and enhancement of contemporary art with a broad participation of institutions and cultural agents. A key mission for Art Madrid is to continue generating a market and promoting national and international collecting in the context of Madrid's art week.

Art Madrid is a multidisciplinary fair model with the participation of around 40 national and international galleries that work with painting, sculpture, graphic art, photography, digital art and video art of recent production (21st century). Art Madrid'24 presents a general program for galleries specialized in contemporary art and a parallel program of activities that will remain active throughout the month of February.

Partial view of Art Madrid. Contemporary Art Fair. 18th Edition. 2023. Photo courtesy of Paola Becerra. Too Many Flash.

Programs

General Program

The general program of Art Madrid'24 continues to be the main focus of the fair and is starred by the national and international galleries that participate in each edition of the fair, a number that ranges between 35 and 40 exhibitors. The proposal of galleries that make up the fair's general program has its own distinctive stamp; it is versatile, risky and covers a wide spectrum that includes both young and established galleries.

Special Program

The parallel program of Art Madrid'24 will once again be the be a special section. that accompanies our event with the intention of reflecting and putting art in function of the problems that define our most immediate context. Our next edition will be structured around a Call for Entries and Performance Program; a Program of Artistic Residencies; the Lecturas Program: Tours curated by Art Madrid. And the Special Section: OPEN BOOTH X ART MADRID dedicated to digital art projects.

Collectors Program

Art Madrid'24 collector's program returns in the next edition of the fair with the commitment to continue building bridges to bring the public closer to contemporary art and to promote collecting at a national and international level. With the collaboration of Ana Suarez Gisbert as Art Advisor, Art Madrid will offer an advisory service for galleries, with special attention to newly incorporated galleries. The advisory service is also aimed at the public who visit our fair with the intention of starting in the world of art collections or those interested in receiving professional advice to expand their collections with the acquisition of artworks in Art Madrid.

New Entries Program

Art Madrid'24's new exhibitor support program will be aimed at the new galleries that will participate in our 19th edition. Through a tailor-made communication pack, new entries to the fair will be presented and given special visibility.

Partial view of Art Madrid. Contemporary Art Fair. 18th Edition. 2023. Photo courtesy of Paola Becerra. Too Many Flash.

Awards

Art Madrid joins forces with institutions, companies and firms to support artistic creation and gallery work at the fair itself through the awarding of various prizes. For the 19th edition of Art Madrid, the following awards have been granted to both galleries and artists:

Best Booth Award Award that will be articulated around the gallery with the best stand set up at the fair.

Revelation Artist Award Our sponsors, within their line of action to promote contemporary art, will provide a prize to one of the revelation artists participating in the fair.

Relevant Information:

Applications to participate in the fair will be sent to the following email address: info@art-madrid.com

Applications will be received by the Art Madrid organization until September 29th, 2023.

From July 7 to 9, 2025, the Balsera Palace will host the First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art, an intensive 15-hour program that will explore the complex and fundamental question of taste in contemporary art. Organized by the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities at Nebrija University and the Avilés City Council, in collaboration with 9915 — Association of Private Collectors of Contemporary Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art, the course offers a unique opportunity for analysis and debate on the dynamics that shape aesthetic and symbolic value in today’s art scene.

First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art. Avilés, Asturias

The notion of taste, intrinsically tied to aesthetic judgments and power relations, has played a decisive role in the historical prominence of artists and artworks. However, contemporary art—marked by its breaking of conventions, diversity of media and techniques, and critical stance toward traditional canons—raises fundamental questions about the continued relevance of this concept.

This course will explore how the decisions made by key players in the art system—institutions, private collections, galleries, curators, and artists—continually redefine a field of taste shaped by aesthetic, symbolic, cultural, social, and political logics.

"¿But does it exist, and what is the prevailing taste of our time—so seemingly confused, fragmented, indecipherable?" - Omar Calabrese, The Neo-Baroque Era.

The academic program, directed by José Luis Guijarro Alonso, Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University, and Pablo Álvarez de Toledo, Head of the Department of Arts at Nebrija University and the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities, will bring together a distinguished group of national experts—including collectors, critics, curators, gallery owners, and artists—whose contributions will address key issues in shaping aesthetic, symbolic, and market value in today’s art world.

PROGRAM

MONDAY, JULY 7

9:30 AM Registration.

10:00 AM Course Opening Nebrija University Avilés City Council Presented by Rosario López Meras – President of the Association of Contemporary Art Collectors, 9915, and Adrián Piera – President of the ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art.

10:30 AM Course Presentation By José Luis Guijarro Alonso – Art Historian and Anthropologist, Researcher, and Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion The Taste of Private Collecting as a Prelude to History. Speakers: Candela Álvarez Soldevilla – Entrepreneur and Collector; Javier Quilis – INELCOM Collection; José Miguel Vegas Valle – Collector. Moderator: Luis Feás – Critic and Curator.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Individual Lecture On Good Taste in Contemporary Art. Speaker: Marisol Salanova – Curator and Art Critic, Director of Arteinformado.

4:45 PM Panel Discussion The Influence of Galleries in Shaping Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Elba Benítez – Gallerist; Ricardo Pernas – Gallerist (Arniches 26); Aurora Vigil-Escalera – Gallerist. Moderator: Rafael Martín – Coleccion@casamer.

6:00 PM End of Day.

6:30 PM Activity and Cocktail Visit to the Exhibition Asturian Artists in the Pérez Simón Collection – Avilés.

TUESDAY, JULY 8

10:00 AM Individual Lecture Contemporary (Bad) Taste: Kitsch, Camp, and Tacky. Speaker: Julio Pérez Manzanares – Autonomous University of Madrid.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion Institutions and the Formation of Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Virginia López – Artist, Founder of PACA_Proyectos Artísticos Casa Antonino; Julieta de Haro – Artistic Director of CentroCentro; Carlos Urroz – Director of Institutional Relations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Moderator: Laura Gutiérrez – Director, School of Art of Oviedo.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Panel Discussion Beyond the Eye: The Taste for Ethical, Ecological, Social, or Political Concerns in Contemporary Art. Speakers: Semíramis González – Independent Curator; Eugenio Ampudia – Artist; Claudia Rodríguez-Ponga – Independent Curator. Moderator: Bárbara Mur Borrás – PhD in Fine Arts.

5:00 PM End of Day.

5:30 PM Activity Visit to the Studiolo Exhibition – Candela Álvarez Soldevilla Collection.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

9:30 AM Meeting with Asturian Artists Speakers: María Castellanos – Artist; Avelino Sala – Artist; Consuelo Vallina – Artist. Moderator: Pablo Álvarez de Toledo – Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Activity Visit to the Niemeyer Center – Avilés.

Course Closing Ceremony.

This course is designed for art professionals, collectors, researchers, and students seeking an in-depth analysis of the dynamics that shape taste and collecting practices in contemporary art. Adopting a critical and multidisciplinary perspective, it provides a unique opportunity to rigorously examine the aesthetic, symbolic, and structural factors that underpin the legitimization of contemporary art.