Museum of Public Art versus Madrid Abierto

Abstract

This paper establishes a connection between two artistic manifestations in Madrid's urban space: the Museo de Arte Público (Museum of Public Art) on the Paseo de La Castellana —formerly known as the Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre (Open-Air Sculpture Museum)— and the annual event Madrid Abierto. Tracing back to the 1960s and 1970s, the paper analyses the museum's origins: the project was approved in 1971 and officially inaugurated in 1979 beneath the bridge linking Calle Juan Bravo and Calle Eduardo Dato. The permanent sculptures are examined through Art-City parameters: their relationship to avant-garde movements, their integration into the urban environment, their spatial distribution along central and lateral axes, and the meanings they acquire according to their individual placement and dialogue with the collection as a whole. Legal, regulatory, and public-space protection issues are also addressed. The paper then analyses the temporary artistic interventions carried out in and around the museum's grounds within the framework of the Madrid Abierto editions (2004–2008), an international contemporary art event held in conjunction with ARCO Madrid. It concludes that both manifestations—the permanent classical avant-garde and the ephemeral contemporary proposals—engage in a dialogue within the same urban space, La Castellana, thereby enriching Madrid's artistic and cultural landscape.