After an intense year of work, visits to galleries, meetings with artists, transatlantic trips to learn about other possible ways of thinking about a fair, we can see that the future of Art Madrid continues to be linked to the initiatives and desires of those who are trying to build a sustainable value proposal for the reality of the cultural context and specifically for contemporary art in Spain.

We return once again to the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles to welcome gallerists, artists, audiences, curators, critics, collectors and all the people who make Art Madrid a place to encounter each edition. This ephemeral home that our fair becomes for a week will celebrate its nineteenth anniversary in 2024. On the eve of our twentieth, a reminder is needed to catapult us towards the celebration.

Work by Katya Scheglova. Dr Robot Gallery. Image courtesy of Christian Monsalve of Too Many Flash.

After the first fifteen editions of Art Madrid, we began a curious obsession with numbers and the month of February. Since then, each time we begin the organizational season for the next edition, dates, days, and hours are turned into tiny goals to be achieved, in an attempt to ensure that the fair continues to be a source of vitality; that it does not lose its approachable and accessible essence; that the galleries risk more on their exhibition proposals; that the artists continue to feel part of this call that we are, and understand that without them, nothing would make sense. In other words, we allow ourselves to dream of a better contemporary art fair in the midst of a scenario that is sometimes difficult, but for us definitely hopeful. For the first time since the pandemic, Art Madrid, an event conceived for Art Week in February, is moving its calendar to March. This closes an infinite cycle of plans for the second month of the year and opens up new opportunities for March to orbit in our favor.

Art Madrid. Edition 16. Image courtesy of Christian Monsalve. Too Many Flash.

The preamble to the 19th edition was also a time to reflect on our obsession with editions, special editions, and special editions... And we understood that our Roman Empire of numbers and editions, that rare thing, is one we think about more than we should; it is not the fear of age, it is not because the years are weighing us down, or because we continue to be defined as a satellite fair. And here we open parentheses, (It is so beautiful the definition of a natural satellite: "A natural satellite is a celestial body that orbits around a planet. The satellite is usually smaller and accompanies the planet in its orbit around its mother star. Contrary to the fragments that orbit in a ring, the natural satellite is the only body in its orbit"). In fact, our Roman Empire is to ensure that the prestige that Art Madrid has achieved along the way is maintained in all the facets that an event of this magnitude touches: at the behest of the contemporary art market, in the eyes of our audience, and that we continue to be the first choice of galleries that bet on our project.

Work by Rodrigo Romero. 3 Punts Gallery. Image courtesy of Christian Monsalve. Too Many Flash.

Under the symbol of a satellite with a natural orbit, Art Madrid'24 opens with a General Program made up of thirty-six galleries and around two hundred artists representing the latest artistic trends on the national and international scene. And it presents a Parallel Program of activities that will take place in the pre-fair and during the week of the event. With the objective of encouraging new generations of artists and offering them a space for promotion in the contemporary art market circuit, the program is composed of Arte y Palabra. Conversations with Carlos del Amor; OPEN BOOTH featuring guest artist Marina Tellme; Intercessions X Tara for Women; Lecturas. Curated Walkthroughs; La Quedada. Art Madrid'24 Studio Visits and the Collecting Program: One Shot Collectors, which includes a consulting service for the acquisition of works by Ana Suárez Gisbert.

Art Madrid. Edition 18. View at Uxval Gochez Gallery. Image courtesy of Ricardo Perucha.

The program - a small celestial body - is a space dedicated to artists who transcend the established, who dream of new forms of expression, and who, through their art, contribute to the evolution and transformation of the artistic context. It is a living showcase for those who not only imagine, but also materialize their visions, turning the fair's stage into a fertile ground for change and creative innovation.

On this 19th anniversary of Art Madrid, we would like to remind ourselves that the future belongs to the dreamers. It is for those who have the ability to dream, to imagine and to create; for those who actively work to turn their aspirations into tangible reality, even against all obstacles. After an intense year of work, we continue to dream of a new Art Madrid for each special edition.

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.