We make a small review of our cultural agenda in Madrid in the month of March, with interesting proposals that you cannot miss.

For the nostalgic people, an exhibition designed to recall the moments of childhood full of imagination and adventures: "Historietas del Tebeo: 1917-1977", in the ABC Museum. From El Capitán Trueno to Tom Thumb, this showing includes a total of 300 works that go through our national history of the band designed since the birth of the "TBO". Until March 16th.

Cover of the no. 107 of “El Capitán Trueno”

"Generación 2018" in La Casa Encendida presents the work of the winners in the latest call Generations, in which more than 500 artists under 35 have participated. 10 projects of young creators in a sample curated by Ignacio Cabrero, in which the main common point is the concern for the current state of contemporary society, with its weaknesses and strengths. Until April 15th.

Serafín Álvarez, from the project “Umbral”, photography, 2017.

Among the classics, the exhibition devoted to Toulouse-Lautrec in the Canal de Isabel II Foundation is essential, which includes for the first time in Spain one of the broadest collections of advertising posters produced by this author of the Belle Époque. The exhibition presents 33 original posters in a collection of 65 works, by other contemporaries such as Mucha or Cheret. An essential visit to immerse yourself in the Paris of the early 20th century. Until May 6th.

Toulouse-Lautrec. “Jane Avril”, 1899. Image by courtesy of Musée d’Ixelles

The photographer Ed van der Elsken has in our country his first great retrospective. The Bárbara de Braganza show-room of the Mapfre Foundation presents this collection of one of the most cosmopolitan authors of the 20th century, in which his role as a filmmaker and editor is also explored. The exhibition has been organised by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and will be open until May 20th.

Ed van der Elsken, “Girl in the subway, Tokyo”, photography, 1981. Photo: © Ed van der Elsken / Collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

Nor can we forget the exhibition "Warhol. El arte mecánico" in CaixaForum Madrid. After passing through Barcelona, this collection lands in the capital to present a proposal that reflects on the artistic production in series and the role of the artist in this process, where Warhol is its main exponent. Until May 6th.

Warhol. El arte mecánico

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.