Art Madrid'25 – Re-discovering the Architecture in the Capital

Façade-view of the Instituto Eduardo Torroja, built in 1953.

 

 

This Friday 29th of September the 14th Edition of “Week of the Architecture” starts and the COAM has programmed, due to the birth centenary of the activist Jane Jacobs, the projection of “Citizen Jane, The Battle for the City”. This film-documentary, directed by Matt Tyrnauer, tells the story of this urbanist from New York that achieved to mobilise crowds of people so as to stop an aberrant construction plan. The project foresaw the demolition of various buildings of lower Manhattan in order to layout a net of roads of eight lanes and to invade the city with tonnes of asphalt. The film arrives now to Spain after its recent first release in the US.

 

 

SGAE headquarters. Longoria Palace, built in 1904.

 

 

This real-fact case is just an example of the impact that urban decisions might cause into the preservation of the architectural heritage, one of the essential aspects to define the aesthetics of a city and to confer identity. The COAM’s program also counts this year on an invited city: Paris. the “Paris-Madrid Tandem 2017” aspires to go deeper into the architectural richness of these two cities and their urban transformation through culture. The proposal counted on the collaboration of both city councils, the embassies of France and Spain, the Institut Française and the Instituto Cervantes, and it offers a series of activities that will take place simultaneously in Madrid and Paris, besides the exhibitions “Réinventer Paris” and “Co-urbanismo” that will open in the Institut Française and L’Alliance Française of Madrid.

 

 

Paris-Madrid Tandem 2017.

 

 

One of the ways to appreciate this importance is by knowing our architecture by oneself, inside and outside. That’s why one of the most interesting proposals is the possibility of visiting the inner side of buildings that usually remain closed to the public. The Open House Festival and the COAM offer access to some of these reserved places like The Lira Palace, the Banco de España, Metrópolis or the Racecourse of Zarzuela. The catalogue overpasses one hundred of buildings and will certainly have a high demand, so you should be fast to register ahead. Last year, there were more than 40.000 visitors and many people couldn’t get access because tours were sold out.

 

 

Old underground station of Chamberí, 1919.

 

 

To close the program, in late October, the proposal “Madrid, otra mirada” (Madrid, another look) includes a series of concerts, visits, lectures and exhibitions to give a larger dissemination of the urban and monumental heritage of the capital. The city council has counted on the collaboration of 107 institutions that will open their doors for the visitors to approach the historic and monumental buildings with “another look”.

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.