As every year, Art Madrid organizes activities focused on contemporary art that take place throughout the month of February and with which the fair invites the public to participate in a much more active way. In this edition, the program is focused on contemporary video art, especially concerning the most recent Spanish media creation.

The wide range of activities, organized by Art Madrid and curated by the PROYECTOR Festival, includes ranging from professional workshops, conversations with artists, lectures, master classes to curated screening programs; as well as is maintained with the collaboration of Obra Social "La Caixa" and the Community of Madrid, through its spaces CaixaForum Madrid and Sala Alcalá 31 respectively. In addition, the program has the support of Cervezas La Virgen, One Shot Hotels and the Culture and Sports Area of Madrid City Council. With this program, Art Madrid becomes a platform for new trends in video and media art, inviting everyone to participate in the most recent contemporary art movements.

Although it is more than 60 years old, video art is understood as an artistic expression, presently it is still a discipline, not too very well-known and important in the most frequent cultural circuits. However, we are facing an expanding, growing moment of these forms of creation, in fact, video creation is one of the increasingly recurrent languages among contemporary authors. The program welcomes new projects that belong to this discipline as well as its knowledge and value, qualities that over time are reflected in the ephemeral character of this type of works and the circumstances surrounding its collection.

"Sweet dreams are made of this" (2016) frame by Carlos Aires.

The activities are presented under the curatorship of Mario Gutiérrez Cru, director of the ground-breaking PROYECTOR festival, a must-see event that takes place in Madrid consisting of audio-visual creation and its multiple elements that have worked hand to hand with hundreds of artists, gallerists, collectors and cultural institutions for more than ten years. The Program is planned into two large segments, each one organized in one of the two locations: CaixaForum Madrid and the Sala Alcalá 31 Auditorium.

On the one hand, the "58 formas de mirar el cuerpo" workshop will take place at CaixaForum throughout Monday 11 and Thursday 14 of February, a unique opportunity of understanding not only new media arts but also their relationship with performing arts by the hand of the renowned creators Elena Córdoba and David Benito. Reflecting specifically on the different ways of understanding and performing dance practices, is a workshop aimed at investigating the experimental, expressive and semiotic possibilities of body language and its relationship with space.

"EverdayMasks" (2017) frame by Paula Lafuente.

On the other hand, the Sala Alcalá 31 Auditorium will host, from Thursday, February 21 to Saturday, February 23, conversations surrounding video art and media art screening sessions. The first conversation will bring together specialists such as Teresa Sapey, Eva Ruiz, Marta Pérez Ibáñez, Idoia Hormaza de Prada and Enrich Abogados in a talk aimed at creating discussion and a thinking forum. Open to all, in this activity the participation of the architect and designer Teresa Sapey is worth reminding, who will not only explain what factors may motivate buying video art but will also accompany us in an exclusive screening session about her media collection; an avant-garde collection that will provide the following artworks:

Candice Breitz with Becoming Cameron (2003), edición 2/3

Hussein Chalayan with Afterwords (2000), edición 3/5

Julian Opie with Sara Undressing (2004), edición 2/4

Marina Abramovic with Nude with Skeleton (2002-2005), edición 4/5

Eugenio Ampudia with Fuego Frío 2 (2004), edición 5/6

"Heteronímia" (2017) frame by Márcia Beatriz Granero.

The other appointments, on Friday the 22nd and Saturday the 23rd, include a conversation with the artists Eugenio Ampudia, Mateo Maté, Carlos Aires, Democracia, Cristina Garrido and Rubén Martín de Lucas who will present their media artworks in a dialogue with the public moderated by the artist and researcher Daniel Villegas, offering a unique opportunity to get to know directly their creative processes. Other highlight is the master class by Rogelio López Cuenca, one of the most outstanding national creators in the media art field. Also, the program includes two screening sessions curated by PROYECTOR: under the titles "Del cuerpo presente al cuerpo performativo" and "Ciudades" will present suggestive media works by about thirty international artists.

With this broad Parallel Program, Arte Madrid is fully committed to the most recent video art forms and narratives, which are as varied as they are complex and enriching. Thus, the fair contributes to the promotion and knowledge of the growth video art creation that, without doubt, connected especially with our current form of communication.

All the activities in detail in the Activities section

At the most recent edition of Art Madrid, artist Luis Olaso (Bilbao, 1986), represented by Kur Art Gallery (San Sebastián), received the Residency Prize of the Art Madrid Patronage Program. This award, the result of a collaboration between Art Madrid, DOM Art Residence, and the Italian association ExtrArtis, enabled him to undertake an artistic residency in Sorrento (Italy) in August 2025.

Through initiatives like this, the fair reaffirms its support for contemporary creation—a commitment aimed at increasing artists’ visibility and strengthening art collecting through concrete actions such as acquisition prizes, recognition of emerging talents, and international residencies.

Artists in Residence. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.

The DOM & ExtrArtis 2025 Residency Program took place in Sorrento from August 1 to 31, 2025. The artists lived together at Relais La Rupe, a 16th-century villa surrounded by cliffs and centuries-old gardens, which became an ideal setting for experimentation and exchange.

In this edition, residents worked around the theme “Reimagining Genius Loci”, an invitation to reflect on how the movement of people and traditions transforms the “spirit of place.” During the residency, DOM organized two public group exhibitions: the first to present the artists’ previous work, and the second to showcase the projects developed in Sorrento.

Work by Luis Olaso. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.

Luis Olaso’s work moves between expressionist figuration and abstraction, always employing a pictorial language charged with strength and emotion. Initially self-taught, he later graduated in Fine Arts and has developed a solid international career, with exhibitions at venues including JD Malat (London) and Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland), and participation in fairs such as Untitled Miami, Estampa, and Art Madrid itself.

His work is part of prestigious collections, including the Tokyo Contemporary Art Foundation, Fundación SIMCO, and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and has been recognized in competitions such as the Reina Sofía Prize for Painting and Sculpture and the Ibercaja Young Painting Prize.

In Sorrento, Olaso found a unique context to expand his pictorial research, engaging in dialogue with the Mediterranean landscape and the region’s historical heritage. The residency provided him with time, resources, and a framework for exchange with other international artists, fostering the production of new works that were later presented in the group exhibitions organized by DOM.

Luis Olaso working on his project. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of DOM.

Luis Olaso’s experience at DOM Art Residence concluded with a public showcase of the works produced, reinforcing his presence on the international circuit and consolidating his position as one of the most prominent Basque artists on the contemporary scene.

Through initiatives such as this, Art Madrid demonstrates its active role as a platform for direct support of contemporary creation, creating opportunities for research, production, and intercultural dialogue that extend beyond the fair itself and accompany artists in their professional development.