ACCIÓN!MAD17

Acción!MAD was launched in 2003 when there weren’t any festivals in Madrid devoted specifically to Action Art and Performance. It arose due to the need to address this shortcoming in the city’s cultural programme, and was created as an annual event offering the public a broad and in-depth overview of an independent, autonomous genre governed by its own space-time rules.   “Over the past 14 editions we have tried to cover a vast geographic spectrum and to show various generations of artists and different sensitivities, with a particular focus on the work of women whose contribution to Action Art and Performance has been and continues to be extraordinarily important, original and fruitful”, explains the festival’s technical and artistic director Nieves Correa. Acción!MAD has hosted important artists including Esther Ferrer (Spanish National Plastic Arts Award 2008); Concha Jerez (Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2011); Isidoro Valcárcel Medina (Spanish National Plastic Arts Award 2007); and Nacho Criado (Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2008 and Spanish National Plastic Arts Award 2009).   In addition to showcasing actions and performances, Acción!MAD organises workshops, round tables, theory-based presentations, discussions, lectures, creations for the public space and more. Since 2008 it has also featured the section Espacio Frágil (Fragile Space), devoted to young artists beginning their careers in the discipline, organised in collaboration with Fine Arts faculties and schools all over Spain.   This year’s guest country is Switzerland, and Naves Matadero will be one of the festival’s hubs. From 9 to 11 November, the entrance halls of Nave 10 and Nave 11 will showcase the interventions of artists Saskia Edens, Jérôme Karsenti, Lilian Frei, Pascal Lampert, Marc Mouci, Ali Al Fatlawi, Wathiq Al Ameri, Gisela Hochuli, Klara Schilliger, Valerian Maly, Adela Picón and Maricruz Peñaloza. The last of these will also give a talk on Performance and Action Art in Switzerland.  
Photo (c) Abel Loureda