Visit Spain: Matadero Madrid, For Art Lovers & Culture Vultures

Matadero Madrid – The Centre for Contemporary Creation

Madrid is the perfect city for me to visit and explore. I’m a food lover, a culture vulture, a woman who has grown to appreciate early mornings but who will always be happiest as a night owl. I’ve been to Madrid twice so far, and each time I’ve visited I’ve learnt of more reasons to fall in love with it. I’ve also learnt that there is still so much learn about it. On my latest visit I fell for Matadero Madrid, The Centre for Contemporary Creation.

Matadero Madrid is supported by the Government Departments for Arts, Sports and Tourism of Madrid City Council.

Housed in the spacious brick-built buildings that were designed by Luis Bellido in 1911 for the city’s abattoir and livestock market. Matadero Madrid can be found in Legazpi in the Arganzuela district which is south of the city centre next to the River Manzanares. An area that was once a place darkened by the abattoir but which has grown and is growing in popularity amongst the culturally minded, and is popular with young families. It can be reached by bike, bus, metro or taxi. In fact if walking from Plaza Mayor, it’d only take you 35 minutes.

Visit Madrid: Visit Matadero Madrid, For Art Lovers & Culture Vultures

Created in 2006 by the Madrid City Council, Matadero was brought to life to “promote research, production, training and dissemination of creation and contemporary thinking in all its manifestations. Its areas of activity are the visual arts, the performing arts, literature and reading, thought, music and sound art, cinema, design, fashion, architecture, urbanism and landscaping, from which an integral and multidisciplinary approach to creation ” (mataderomadrid.org)

Matedero which literally means Slaughterhouse, is quite the opposite to a place of death. It’s a place of life, a space for artists and creatives to develop and share their ideas. It’s a space for cultural and artistic understanding and open to all, you just need to bring inquisitiveness to the table.

Matadero Madrid is divided into two, public and private. Under the public entities are:

Intermediae, a production space that focuses on community based artistic projects.
The Slaughterhouses, which house the International Centre for Living Arts. A space that focuses on performing arts, visual arts, literature, philosophy, film and music.
The Coordination Office, which includes a workshop, Matadero Archive and a public space.
Cineteca, a cinema that focuses on independent, non-fiction cinema.

The private entities include a Design Centre, the Artistas Visuales Asociados de Madrid, the German Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation, and the Cultural Factor, an Association of Support to the Entrepreneurship of Cultural and Creative Industries.

‘A moment of rest’ is important at Matadero Madrid. And you can always find somewhere to take the load off, but most notably Café Teatro, part of the Spanish Naves. Cantina, part of Cineteca. And during the summer months; Terrace Matadero, the Terrace Bar in Matadero Square.

And speaking of Matadero Square, here you’ll find artistic events from concerts and dances to music festivals, mostly during the summer months.

When visiting the public spaces, keep an eye out for:

The Avant Garden, a wild garden and space for developing ideas and landscaping skills.

The El Taller, a space that hosts workshops, where designers and the public meet.

Naves Del Español, a uniquely large theatre space of three warehouses that includes a renowned main room called Fernando Arrabal and is managed by Teatro Español.