Matadero Madrid to host the second edition of Biophest, exploring the connection with nature
- The 2026 edition of the festival will foster the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and artistic experimentation in order to promote biophilia, understood as the innate love of nature.
- Among the participating experts are neuroscientist Nazareth Castellanos, researcher Michael Marder, musicians Joe Patitucci and Teo Lucadamo, and artist María Eugenia Diego.
- New this year, a film program joins an extensive lineup of talks, installations, music, workshops, guided walks, and activities for all audiences.
- Tickets for adult workshops and screenings are available at mataderomadrid.org and cinetecamadrid.com. Registration for free activities will open on April 8 at intermediae.es.
Matadero Madrid, a contemporary creation center under the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport, will host the second edition of Biophest from April 14 to 19, featuring a wide-ranging program for all audiences. Organized by Intermediae Matadero and curated by urban botany expert Elena Páez and cultural communication specialist Eva F. Cortés, the festival promotes the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and artistic experimentation to deepen the emotional bond between humans and nature.
Following the success of its first edition, the program expands to six days, offering more than 30 activities including film screenings, talks, workshops, guided walks, artistic installations, and concerts. The concept of the “mosaic landscape”—referring to territories where different land uses coexist—will shape the 2026 edition, developed by internationally recognized artists, musicians, naturalists, and scientists.
Local contributors will also highlight the diversity of natural environments surrounding Matadero Madrid through guided walks. In addition, the spirit of British filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman (1942–1994), along with his deep love of nature, will resonate throughout the festival.
‘Docu natura by Água das Pedras’ film series
Film joins the program in this second edition with the series Docu natura by Água das Pedras, featuring three films that explore the relationship between people and plant life, serving as a prelude to the weekend’s activities.
The Garden (Derek Jarman, 1990), The Secret Life of Plants (Walon Green, 1978)—with an original soundtrack by Stevie Wonder—and the documentary Sembradoras de vida (Diego and Álvaro Sarmiento, 2019) will be screened on April 14, 15, and 16, respectively.
Each screening will include introductions by curators Elena Páez and Eva F. Cortés; music curator Diego Fernández; and curator and art historian Aurora Carmenate Díaz. Tickets are available at cinetecamadrid.com.
Art installations and exhibitions
From April 17 to 19, Nave Una will host four free artistic proposals where plant life connects with art and thought.
Oasis improbable, by María Eugenia Diego (KOKON), winner of the first Flora International Festival Prize, blends sculpture and botany, inspired by the garden Derek Jarman cultivated on a pebble beach. Its light, translucent materiality reflects the vulnerability Jarman experienced while living with HIV. In connection with this installation, Javier Pérez Iglesias will lead a public reading of Jarman’s diaries on the afternoon of Saturday, April 18.
XenoVisual Studies [XVS], a research collective in residence at Medialab Matadero, presents Photosynthesis, a site-specific installation exploring the idea of feeding plants through “xenovisuality”—a synthesis guided by images rather than light.
Meanwhile, Chemical Calls of Care II by Yolanda Uriz explores audio-olfactory communication with plants, inviting visitors to experience a chemical dialogue with aromatic species. A central unit of living plants generates olfactory signals translated into sound.
Food sovereignty is the focus of What Do We Harvest?, organized by Ecosecha in the Terrario space, showcasing the diversity of local varieties and highlighting their drastic decline.
Talks with experts
Six free talks at Cineteca Madrid’s Sala Plató will explore different perspectives on biophilia.
On Saturday, April 18, neuroscientist Nazareth Castellanos opens the program with Breathing: A Gateway to the Brain (11:30 AM), followed by psychologist José Antonio Corraliza (12:30 PM) on nature and emotion, and sociologist Helen Torres (1:30 PM) discussing fungi and mycelium as both matter and metaphor.
On Sunday, April 19, philosopher Michael Marder—one of the leading figures in “plant thinking”—will present Thinking with Seeds (11:30 AM). Naturalist and writer Joaquín Araújo will follow (12:30 PM), and the session concludes with a roundtable titled Caring for the Landscape: Mosaics that Prevent Wildfires (1:30 PM).
Music inspired by plant life
Each day of the weekend will feature a live music event, curated by Diego Fernández.
On Friday, April 17, American artist Joe Patitucci presents a talk and performance based on his PlantWave project, which translates real-time data from plants into music (8:00 PM).
On Saturday, April 18, Teo Lucadamo will reinterpret Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants.
The program concludes on Sunday, April 19 (2:15 PM) with DJ John Gómez’s From Seed to Rhythm, a sonic journey moving from ambient to downtempo and deep house, reflecting the life cycle of plants.
Workshops for children and adults
Over the weekend, six workshops invite participants to explore biophilia.
Free children’s workshops, The Forest Challenge and The Nature of Objects, are supported by PEFC Spain and open to children aged six and up (registration opens April 8).
Adult workshops connect artistic practices such as embroidery, stamp-making, and cyanotype with plant-based themes, while also exploring seeds, aromatic plants, and plant care. Tickets are already available.
Trashion: fashion, music, and activism
On Sunday, April 19, Terrario and Nave Una host a participatory activity where adults transform waste into ephemeral fashion inspired by plant imagery. The event culminates in the performative runway Venus Flytrap.
Led by Clara Macías Carcedo with sound by Raquel Martínez Muñoz, this free activity requires prior registration.
Guided nature walks
Biophest also includes four guided walks.
On Saturday, April 18, a botanical route along the Manzanares River will be led by Carmen Haro and Laura Milena Ramírez (11:30 AM), followed by a visit to the Arganzuela Crystal Palace greenhouse (5:00 PM).
On Sunday, April 19, additional routes led by Malú Cayetano, Aixa González, and Joaquín Araújo complete the program.
All walks are free with prior registration.
Biophest is organized by Intermediae and Matadero Madrid, with support from Água das Pedras and PEFC Spain, and curated by Elena Páez and Eva F. Cortés. The festival continues Intermediae’s long-standing focus on permaculture and critical ecology.
Press contact: comunicacion@mataderomadrid.org