Matadero Cultural Center is a center for creative creation and promotion of art. The center was established in 2006, and the place where it is located is the old Madrid slaughterhouse on the cattle market, and as such, it is of great importance for the heritage and has great architectural value. It is a place where creative and artistic processes separate, stories about art are created, opinions are exchanged, workshops are held, ideas are promoted, and it helps to understand today's culture. It is located in the part of Arganzuela.
The building of today's Matadero was used as a slaughterhouse until 1996. After that, reconstructions and restorations were made in order to adapt the space and appearance to a cultural center as it is today. The Madrid City Council came up with the idea to turn the slaughterhouse into a space for creating art, and that is a project that was promoted by their Department of Arts.
Matadero encompasses all artistic directions, from visual arts, literature, film, music, architecture, design, performing arts. Matadero encompasses several spaces, and each is intended for certain fields, so Naves del Espanol en Matadero is a stage that serves as a cafe-theater and for performance, exchange of opinions and for workshops; there is also the Nava space which is a space for various art events and this is a former cold storage; the Casa del Lector space is a reading room; Central de Diseño is a space where design is preferred;
Cineteca is a cinema and is also the only cinema whose program is focused on non-fiction; Plaza and Calle Matadero is an open space and is multi-purpose, for events of an entertaining and cultural character, for taking a walk and enjoying; Intermediae is a section dedicated to creative work and developing contacts between artists in Madrid; AVAM belongs to the visual artists of Madrid where their projects can be seen.
There are also very nice cafes within the Matadero, as well as a terrace that is only open during the summer. Various programs, market day, exhibitions, various workshops and some festivals during the summer are organized on the premises of Matadero. The place gives young creative people the opportunity to express themselves and connect with people who are the same or similar to them.
Matadero was the inspiration for the 1999 film Chicken Run. Luis Bellida was in charge of the appearance of the slaughterhouse, and construction began in 1911.
Working hours are from Monday to Sunday from 09:30 am to 9:30 pm.
Author of the text:
Maja Glavaš, Bachelor with Honours in Communicology. Works in Tourism.
Contact: [email protected]; instagram: travel_europe1
photo credit: Tomas Anton Escobar
