La Tabacalera, Madrid
July 12, 2010. References.
We weren’t sure on publishing this reference on the blog as it differs in many aspects with our project: La Tabacalera is a remarkable new social center that follows the long tradition of many squatter social centers in the lively and multiethnic neighborhood of Lavapies. It will cover a broad range of social and cultural activities supported by dozens of different collectives and associations based on that area.
What makes it so special is that La Tabacalera will be the first self-managed initiative in Madrid which hasn’t been squattered but legally given by the spanish government. This magnificent industrial building from the XVIII century will house the National Center for the Visual Arts in the future but due to expected delays on the completion of the project, Spanish Ministry of Culture decided to propose a temporary management of the facilities to some of the artists and associations operating on the area. Rapidly different workgroups were created and with a minimum financial investment the project is about to open its doors to the public.
We are very interested on how this project evolves in the following months as it is creating exciting new ways of public/private collaboration models in our country. Please share with us any more insights about the initiative!
