L.E.V. Matadero Festival, Cristina Mejías’ exhibition, and the LAB 4 Rare Futures lab open the new season at Matadero Madrid

• Cineteca Madrid will celebrate Animario, Madrid’s International Contemporary Animation Festival, from December 11 to 14.
• Medialab will develop its collaborative research lab LAB 4 Rare Futures.
• Intermediae Distribuido will launch three participatory artistic and cultural projects in collaboration with the districts of Arganzuela and Usera.
• The Center for Artistic Residencies will welcome new artists who will mature their projects within this framework of institutional support.
• Numerous family activities will explore play, art, and nature.

Matadero Madrid, a space belonging to Madrid City Council’s Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sport, returns from summer break with some of its major annual highlights, including L.E.V. Matadero, Festival of Visual Electronics and Extended Realities, and Animario, Madrid International Festival of Contemporary Animation, organized by Cineteca.

From October 23: Cristina Mejías’ exhibition at Nave 0

The second site-specific exhibition in the revived Abierto x Obras program will open on October 23, featuring artist Cristina Mejías, curated by Soledad Gutiérrez. The Cádiz-born artist takes on this project by invoking a fragile and ever-changing ecosystem, with water as its central element, flowing through the building’s architecture.

Mejías’ work remains attentive to oral tradition, listening, and storytelling, using sculpture, installation, and video as her main tools. She has recently held solo shows at international institutions including Museo Patio Herreriano (Valladolid), RoyalMount (Montreal), Vinya dels artistes (Lleida), Centro de Arte Párraga (Murcia), Teatro La Capilla (Mexico City, with Víctor Colmenero Mir), Museo Provincial de Cádiz, Museo Provincial de Jaén, Blueproject Foundation (Barcelona), and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia (Maracaibo, Venezuela). Her work will soon also be presented in a solo show at C3A (Córdoba).

Medialab: LAB 4 Rare Futures

The fourth edition of Medialab’s collaborative research laboratory is titled Rare Futures and will focus on exploring the deep instability affecting contemporary society, immersed in scenarios of constant uncertainty. The program is open to artists, technologists, experimental designers, critical thinkers, students, experts in different fields, and citizens at large who are drawn to this theme.

In November, Medialab will focus on one of LAB 4’s core themes—“soft” science fiction and poetic interventions into today’s technological tensions—through a collaboration with the Dutch artist-designer collective Metahaven. Their participation will include an installation of Hometown (never before shown in Spain), a new commission titled Collapse of the Weave Function, and a geodesign workshop.

The new academic year will also see the development of three situated research projects (2025–2026) aligned with Medialab’s lines of work and in dialogue with the center’s activities and communities. The FabLAB at the Center for Artistic Residencies will reopen to all residents, hosting courses, workshops, and activities related to digital fabrication. At the same time, the work of various ongoing groups will continue, including sessions of the Electronic Repair Café, Costura Remake, CoderDojo, and The Things Network.

Intermediae Distribuido: spotlight on Arganzuela and Usera

Intermediae launches the season with three projects selected through its new Intermediae Distribuido call (June 2024), supporting participatory cultural projects by artists, creators, cultural agents, and collectives, focusing on the nearby districts of Arganzuela and Usera. All share a community-based and experimental approach.

The first addresses everyday violence through sport, focusing on young people in Usera and using methodologies from martial arts and theater.

The second explores mourning cultures, concentrating on the high concentration of funeral homes and cemeteries in southern Madrid and the communities around them.

The third is a community photo-book project aimed at documenting contemporary life in Usera.

The three projects will last up to one year, accompanied by mediation and evaluation experts Leire San Martín (specialist in mediation, education, and contemporary art practices) and Adriana Reyes (anthropologist and creator working in live arts).

Cineteca Madrid: cinema, mysticism, and animation

Cineteca Madrid will open its regular programming in September with a month dedicated to cinema and mysticism, exploring the many ways film has approached the inexplicable, the invisible, and the transcendent.

Spiritual Journeys. Rescuing the legacy of Indian cinema will present restored gems by the Film Heritage Foundation.

Czech cinema of the 1970s. Beyond the New Wave will highlight a period of radical experimentation and political engagement where cinema became a tool of memory and resistance.

Visions of the Apocalypse. Cinema for the End of the World will revisit some of the most significant films of the genre.

From December 11 to 14, Animario, Madrid International Festival of Contemporary Animation, will return for its 8th edition, bringing together audiences and creators through a national and international program of screenings, talks, meetings, and workshops. The festival will also support animated film creators with two awards: the Animario Prize for Best Animated Short Film and the Animario Prize for Animation Production.

Artistic Residencies: open calls and new projects

The Center for Artistic Residencies (CRA), which focuses on providing resources and support networks for the city’s creative fabric, will continue to host projects at Nave 16 around themes such as environment, art and education, experimental electronic music, music production, and visual arts. In November, the center will open its doors to the public to showcase residents’ work.

In September, the PETRA program of experimental writing in contemporary art will also return, featuring workshops by Marta Fernández Calvo, Vito Gil-Delgado, and Jorge de Cascante.

Family activities: exploring nature, art, and play

The family program returns this fall packed with activities for all ages. In collaboration with the association El Bancal, children will reconnect with urban nature and discover the traditional trades of the past in a workshop building houses for elves. With the Bajo Teja platform, kids will reflect on joyful ways of celebrating through dance, song, and play.

The family music show Escaramuza Fluorescente will return, alongside a scenography workshop where children will design the stage sets with the duo Buque Bólido. Free-play zones with wooden pieces and interactive sensory spaces for babies will also continue to be available.

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More information: comunicacion@mataderomadrid.org