Matadero Madrid and CentroCentro open green cultural spaces to seek refuge from the heat
- From Tuesday to Sunday, with extended hours from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM, visitors can seek refuge from the heat and rest in this cultural lounge, featuring activities ranging from music, conversation, active listening, and reading to reflection and dance.
- CentroCentro will open its Espacio Cultural Vegetal (Green Cultural Space) from July 3 to August 30, also from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with activities including a botanical drawing workshop and flamenco performances.
Matadero Madrid, a space within the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport, is launching the program 'Un cuarto de estar para la ciudad' ("A Living Room for the City") in Nave Una. From July 1 to July 31, it will bring together a set of activities and cultural practices that provide shelter and rest from high temperatures. Designed by Intermediae—Matadero Madrid's initiative committed to a social and community perspective—the program draws on the idea of the "living room" in our homes as a place of encounter and hospitality, connecting the intimate and domestic with the exploration of a shared space with others. Likewise, CentroCentro is renewing its commitment for the second year to these spaces that serve as climate refuges, opening its Espacio Cultural Vegetal from July 3 to August 30.
To create these environments of freshness and well-being, both municipal spaces, as well as the climate refuge at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, will feature a variety of native plants loaned by the Sub-Directorate General for Parks and Nurseries of the Department of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility. The plants in Nave Una will be cared for by urban botany expert Elena Páez, from the botanical studio Planthae.
'A Living Room for the City' at Matadero Madrid
The cultural lounge installed in Nave Una offers proposals based on conversation, active listening, performance, and music, led by artists and creators. The space will be open from Tuesday to Sunday, with extended hours from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
'Un cuarto de estar para la ciudad' can be freely used as a space to protect oneself from the summer heat while sharing rest, conversation, work, reading, or contemplation in the public space. The programming will be brought to life through concerts and soundscapes, accompanied by presentations, open conversations, performances, and other forms of gathering.
Under the perspective of a climate refuge that cultural institutions are activating during these summer months, the initiative consolidates a path successfully started in 2025, which was enjoyed by more than 11,000 people. This second edition of 'Un cuarto de estar para la ciudad' places the accent on the perspective of community and the notion of inhabiting space.
To this end, Intermediae has invited creators and collectives whose artistic practices are defined by openness and co-production, involving others, to take part in the initiative. Among the participating communities are those emerging from active projects in Usera and Arganzuela—such as those promoted by the Intermediae Distribuido call, which will be incorporated into the program—along with other guests who will explore forms of community that emerge around practices such as listening, writing, film, or reading. Noteworthy among them is Spasticus Artisticus, a community linked to Matadero Madrid that gathers people with disabilities, neurodivergent individuals, psychiatric survivors, or those with long-term illnesses, and who have accompanied the center throughout this year.
Botanical drawing, flamenco, and classical micro-scenes at CentroCentro
Meanwhile, CentroCentro’s Espacio Cultural Vegetal will open its doors from July 3 to August 30 as a place to seek refuge from the heat, pause, relax, and reconnect with oneself and nature.
Amidst publications, shade, and vegetation, the municipal contemporary art center will offer a place for reading and observation, where the public can also enjoy different cultural proposals: a botanical drawing workshop, guided by Marta Chirino; and a flamenco show in its most performative modality, by dancer and choreographer Ofelia Márquez (August 7, 12:30 PM).
CentroCentro’s Espacio Cultural Vegetal can be enjoyed from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Rooms will be cleared 15 minutes before the center closes. More information at centrocentro.org.
Program for 'A Living Room for the City' (Matadero Madrid)
June 30 – July 3: 'Open Studio', by Yuan iuan
Focused on the Usera neighborhood, Yuan iuan’s project 'Where is my friends?' was born as a memory archive and a space for community restitution. The project—selected in the 2026 Intermediae Distribuido call—documents everyday life as a political act in leisure, cultural, and religious spaces created by the Chinese diaspora in Usera. Its purpose is not only to document but also to activate collective processes of mutual recognition, strengthen ties, and open conversations about the ways we inhabit the city.
Sunday, July 5, 6:30 PM: 'Building Community through Self-Defense. Popular Contact Sports Meeting', by Gada 7
This proposal is based on the conviction that the body is a tool for resistance, communication, and creation. From an intersectional and feminist perspective, it proposes a community space where young people aged 18 to 30 explore new forms of expression and self-defense through artistic and athletic practices.
Thursday, July 9, from 5:00 PM: Spasticus Artisticus
This day will include a series of closing activities for the Spasticus Artisticus project, which has inhabited Matadero’s workshop space from January to June, addressing disability and related realities. The day will include a publication presentation, a round-table discussion, and a DJ session.
Friday, July 10, 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM: 'Madrid 360 Joven', by the Madrid City Council Youth Department
This initiative proposes different activities organized by youth leisure and counseling centers (QuedaT.com, Europa Joven Madrid, youth information offices, and Voluntarios por Madrid), with the aim of raising awareness among young audiences about climate change. Activities will include interactive tables and workshops on crafts, recycling, and ecological products.
Wednesday, July 15, 7:00 PM: 'Emotional Communities. Writing with those who are not here', by Inés Plasencia Camps and Las Lindas Pobres
This activation shares a vision of testimonial and autobiographical literature, based on a writing group active at Intermediae during July. The proposal is framed within the project 'Cultures of Mourning South of Madrid'.
Wednesday, July 22 & Thursday, July 23, 7:00 PM: 'Afternoons of Listening and Refuge', by Campos de Marte + Marco Padiya Performance, with the contribution of Marta Echaves (Caja Negra)
A shared sound session between Josephine' Soundscapes and Marco Padiya, who will engage their aesthetic universes and listening methodologies in dialogue to activate an environment of attention, presence, and collective connection.
Thursday, July 30, 8:30 PM: 'Transfer', by Iren Márquez Dos Santos and Euyín Eugene
A community in motion will guide attendees on a nocturnal, sonic drift around the river—the city's heritage and best climate refuge. As facilitators of the experience, creators and visual/performing arts researchers Iren Márquez Dos Santos and Euyín Eugene will propose a soundscape and a protocol of attention, respectively, aimed at readying bodies and refining perception for an encounter with the river.
Press Contact: comunicacion@mataderomadrid.org