La Quinta del Sordo is a creative coworking space that is located in the La Latina neighborhood of Madrid, a place to work in community, to connect, to innovate, to learn and discover art and culture from within the industries themselves cultural and creative.

La Quinta del Sordo

But it is much more than a co-working space, it is designed to create and inspire, it is a creative community that grows and transforms itself to transform what surrounds it, whose mission is to generate a place for ideas and start-up of projects. La Quinta del Sordo, a space with more than 1000m2 conceived as a factory of collective creation dedicated to cultural innovation through training programs, networking and cultural events, is based on a model of collaboration and transmission between creators, professionals (today more than 70 professionals from different areas coexist in this space), and the public itself, with the commitment to creative companies and the professionalization of the sector, working with this philosophy to collectively grow and innovate in the cultural arts sector.

Closeness and community are the basis for transformation, and this is the place to shape the new ideas of each project. Plastic Artists, Filmmakers, Photographers, Playwrights, Architects, Musicians, Artisans, Designers, Innovation Projects, Marketing or Graphic Designers and O.N.G., are what give it life. This declaration of intentions is what has connected La Quinta del Sordo with the parallel program of the 13th edition of Art Madrid, dedicated to #Art&Education in which they are Collaborating Space (we will see you there throughout February with different activities) and also they present TANDEM.

Tandem

WHAT IS TANDEM? TANDEM is an intensive professionalization and project start-up course that unites artists and cultural managers to learn while they launch their artistic-cultural projects as a team. TANDEM is committed to innovation in cultural formats through the union of artists, managers and projects. It offers new tools for the creation, documentation, communication and marketing of creative projects, to grow collectively within the sector of cultural and creative industries.

The course is aimed at professionals, artists, cultural managers, students or art lovers, who want to develop their own projects working as a team and learning from within how the current artistic community works (if you do not have a project do not worry you will end up with one without doubt!).

The TANDEM course is an intensive course with theoretical-practical classes, lectures, project tutoring, debates, visits and meetings lasting 7 days. The objective: obtain the most current tools to develop projects in the field of culture and art.

If you are interested in TANDEM or want to meet La Quinta del Sordo, we will see you on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, at 7:30 p.m. with #Art&Education #ArtMadrid18.

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.