Tabacalera had been put on pause, but not forgotten. After a time of rehabilitation, the Council of Ministers has given the final go-ahead for this historic building in Lavapiés to be reborn as the Tabacalera Center for Artistic Production and Residencies. In other words, the great refuge of contemporary creation in Madrid.
The Madrid of ten years ago differs from the current one in symbols, in details, factors such as rents, the change in the profile of premises and the absence of an iconic Tabacalera, which in aesthetics at times could well remind one of those dingy bars in Budapest.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has been in charge of promoting this royal decree that seals Tabacalera’s destiny as a new art epicenter. The intention is clear: to promote and plan new strategic policies in the field of contemporary artistic practices. As if it were a state-owned museum, but with a much more lively and experimental air.
In this regard, it is interesting the concern raised by Miguel Ezquiaga, journalist of El Pais, in yesterday’s newsletter: does a neighborhood like Lavapies, which already has the Casa Encendida, the Reina Sofia and so many other galleries, need another “elitist center”? Ezquiaga’s answer is that, perhaps, the new Tabacalera has in the CA2M in Móstoles a good mirror in which to look at itself.
A historic building
The building, which since the 18th century housed the Tobacco Factory of Madrid and closed its industrial stage at the end of the 20th century, has been undergoing works since 2021. For this, it has been provided with an endowment of two million euros from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. An economic boost that has aroused the interest of more than 800 artistic projects from all the autonomous communities. In June the awarding of spaces will be resolved.
Tabacalera returns, and with it, the promise of a space where the contemporary, the emerging and the unexpected will have a home in the heart of Madrid. We were looking forward to it.