Do you know the work and the different projects developed by VEGAP? This year, you will get to know first-hand the extensive work developed by Visual Entidad de Gestión de Artistas Plásticos (VEGAP): the organisation collaborates with the fourteenth edition of Art Madrid and will have a specific booth at the fair.

#Europeforcreators campaign.

As many of you will know, VEGAP is the organisation that has been managing intellectual property rights for visual creators in Spain for almost thirty years. Painters, sculptors, photographers, illustrators, designers, video artists, net artists and architects… all the visual creators. Currently, VEGAP represents more than 150,000 artists from 46 countries, provides cultural management services to a multitude of Spanish cultural institutions, as well as VEPGAP collaborates with the gallery sector, through the Galleries Associations, among others.

In addition to these tasks, VEGAP will present its Image Bank project: a huge catalogue of contemporary art images that offers all professionals related to the publishing, advertising, multimedia, television or audiovisual producers sectors, more than 60,000 exclusive images of the most representative artists of the contemporary creation. In a very fast and simple way, in the same and only management, the user obtains together the image, the license of use for the reproduction/distribution as well as the public communication of the work. This catalogue is exceptional because of the high technical quality of the images. Also, both the choice process and the treatment of the colour of the images has been supervised by the authors or, in any case, his inheritors.

The organisation is also in charge of the “Propuestas VEGAP” Competition, a contest conceived by artists to help artists. Born in 1997, on the initiative of the extinct Fundación Arte y Derecho, the main purpose of "Propuestas" is to stimulate visual creation by supporting the production and financing of artistic projects by visual creators. It is a unique contest of its kind, as it finances the creation and not the acquisition of works, of all branches of visual creation: plastic arts, photography, new forms of artistic expression, illustration and graphic design.

Throughout 22 editions, independent juries constituted by some of the most relevant artists of the Spanish scene, have distributed more than one million euros among around more than 300 artworks, making this contest one of the most artistic remarkable patronage projects of the cultural sector. The last year's award money was 50,000€ divided into 5 prizes, and the winners were the artists Nuria Güell, Ismael Iglesia, Diego del Pozo Barriuso, Clara Carvajal and José María Medina Manrique. The call for the 2019 edition will soon open.

Also, during the celebration of the fair you will be able to know the "Arte y Derecho" Collection, a publication edited by Trama. It was created in 2003 by Fundación Arte y Derecho and today is still managed by VEGAP. The publishing house, which has almost twenty titles, is specialized in two lines of research. On the one hand, you can find titles dedicated to legal issues, aimed at scholars and researchers of Copyright in their speciality authors of visual creation. With essays as enlightening as “Protección Jurídica de Videojuegos” (Francisco Javier Donaire y Antonio José Planells de la Maza, 2012), “Los creadores visuales ante la reforma de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual” (Javier Moscoso del Prado, Alberto Bercovitz, Juan Antonio Xiol Ríos, Alberto Corazón y Javier Gutiérrez, 2007) or “Protección y límites del Derecho de Autor de los Creadores Visuales” (Antonio Delgado Porras, Alberto Bercovitz, Juan José Marín, Carola Streul, Javier Gutiérrez, Rafael Sánchez Aristi, Asunción Esteve Pardo, 2006),among others.

And on the other hand, there are other titles related to the essays on art that have been the subject of the different editions of the prizes of the "Escritos sobre Arte" Competition, also organized by the Fundación Arte y Derecho and which its name is given in Fundation’s memory. You can find thematic lines as suggestive as “Paracinema” (Esperanza Collado, 2012), “Iconoclasia, historia del arte y lucha de clases” (José María Durán Medraño, 2010), “Arte y Posfordismo” (Octavi Cameron, 2007) or “El montaje expositivo como traducción” (Isabel Tejeda, 2006).

Thus, the committed work of the VEGAP organisation, which has in the structure of its organizational chart great artists such as Antón Patiño, Montserrat Soto, Eva Lootz, Alfonso Albacete, Juan Genovés, Susana Solano, Chema Madoz or Esther Pizarro, among many others, will be promoted at the Art Madrid fair.

ART MADRID CLOSES ITS 21ST EDITION AS A KEY EVENT OF MADRID ART WEEK

The Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles hosted the 21st edition of Art Madrid from March 4 to 8, once again consolidating its role as one of the must-see events of Madrid Art Week. Over the course of five days, the fair brought together 35 national and international galleries and more than 200 artists, turning the venue into a meeting point for gallerists, collectors, professionals, and lovers of contemporary art.

Throughout its trajectory, Art Madrid has built a distinct identity, with a constant focus on giving visibility to both emerging and established galleries and on opening contemporary art to diverse audiences. Rather than being structured around a single curatorial line, the fair embraced a plural proposal, respecting the unique DNA of each exhibitor.

Art Madrid’26 presented a Gallery Program distinguished by the diversity of artistic proposals and languages, encouraging dialogue between different generations and contemporary practices. Painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, installation, and new hybrid forms coexisted in an edition that once again confirmed the dynamism of today’s art scene

During the days of the fair, nearly 20,000 visitors explored the booths of the participating galleries and enjoyed a parallel program that expanded the experience beyond the traditional exhibition format.

The Parallel Program: An Expanded Art Fair

The Parallel Program once again took center stage in the Art Madrid experience, activating the fair space through projects that explored new forms of interaction between artworks, artists, and the public.

Among the most notable initiatives was the performance series Open Infinite: What the Body Remembers, which presented a daily performative action at the fair featuring works by Colectivo La Burra Negra, Rocío Valdivieso, Amanda Gatti, and Jimena Tercero. The pieces incorporated the body as a critical device and a space of memory, reinforcing the presence of performance within Art Madrid’s programming.

The third edition of Open Booth presented Despiece. Protocolo de mutación, by Daniel Barrio, a site-specific project that transformed the booth into a landscape constructed from urban remnants and industrial materials. The installation invited visitors to physically engage with the work, creating an immersive experience within the exhibition space.

Meanwhile, Espacio Nebrija hosted the project Estancias transitorias (NotanIA SipedagogIE), a proposal by Nebrija University that reflected on Aesthetic Intelligence in the face of the growing dominance of algorithmic logic. The installation proposed a reclamation of gesture, materiality, and the time inherent to the creative process as dimensions that cannot be reduced to automation.

Lecturas. Curated Walkthroughs also returned, with itineraries designed by Zuriñe Lafón and Marisol Salanova that offered curatorial insights for exploring the fair from specific critical perspectives and expanding the visitor experience.

Patronage, Awards, and Acquisitions

Support for contemporary creation once again stood as one of the fair’s central pillars through the second edition of the Art Madrid Patronage Program, which recognizes the work of artists and strengthens the connections between galleries, collectors, and private entities.

On this occasion, the following awards were presented:

Cervezas Alhambra Emerging Artist Award Iyán Castaño, represented by Galería Arancha Osoro

One Shot Hotels Breakthrough Artist Award Joost Vandebrug, represented by KANT Gallery

In the Acquisition Awards category, several private collections incorporated works presented at the fair into their collections.

Studiolo Collection Roger Sanguino — DDR Art Gallery

Devesa Law Kim Han Ki — Banditrazos Gallery

E2IN2 Collection Albert Bonet — Inéditad Gallery

dn2 Collection Iván Baizán — Galería Arancha Osoro

These acquisitions reflect the private sector’s commitment to the development of contemporary art and contribute to advancing the professional trajectories of emerging and mid-career artists.

Collecting and Support for the Artistic Ecosystem

The promotion of collecting once again played a prominent role in this edition thanks to the One Shot Collectors program, which offered personalized advice to both new buyers and more experienced collectors, facilitating access to the contemporary art market and fostering direct relationships between artists, galleries, buyers, and collectors.

This program, together with the Patronage Program, continues to strengthen the professional ecosystem surrounding the fair and reinforce Art Madrid’s commitment to supporting contemporary creation.

Among the most notable sales were works by Antonio Ovejero, represented by CLC ARTE; Leticia Feduchi and Ángela Mena, represented by Galería Sigüenza; Idoia Cuesta and Iyán Castaño, represented by Galería Arancha Osoro; and Yasiel Elizagaray, represented by Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea. Likewise, the proposals presented by Inéditad Gallery were very well received, with notable sales of works by artists Albert Bonet and Eduardo UrdIales, as well as Carmen Mansilla, who debuted at Art Madrid'26 and achieved a sold out.

The overall balance of the edition has been particularly positive, with sales reported by all 35 participating galleries, confirming the strong interest from collectors and the dynamism of the market throughout the fair. Among the galleries that recorded notable commercial activity are La Mercería (Valencia), LAVIO (Murcia–Shanghai), 3 Punts Galería (Barcelona), Galerie One (Paris), Shiras Galería (Valencia), Galería Rodrigo Juarranz (Aranda de Duero), Galería São Mamede (Lisbon), Yiri Arts (Taiwan), and Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisbon), among others.

A Fair made possible thanks to Its network of Partners

The success of Art Madrid’26 has been made possible thanks to the support of its official sponsors: Cervezas Alhambra, One Shot Hotels, Liquitex, Universidad Nebrija, and Posca, as well as the trust of its collaborators: Asociación 9915, Colección Studiolo, E2IN2, Colección dn2, Devesa Law, Enviarte, Cova 13, and Vanille Bakery Lab & Café. The fair also benefits from the involvement of its media partners and the support of various cultural organizations, private collections, and institutions that contribute to strengthening the contemporary art ecosystem.

Art Madrid: A Future Full of Possibilities

After 21 years of history, Art Madrid continues to consolidate its position as a key event in the contemporary art calendar, both nationally and internationally. Its ability to bring together galleries, artists, collectors, and institutions reinforces its role as a space for encounter, exchange, and discovery. The fair maintains a steadily growing outlook, driven by a program that evolves each year and increasingly opens up to more innovative proposals.

Thank you for being part of the 21st edition of Art Madrid. Your support is essential for continuing to promote art and culture.

See You at Art Madrid’27!