Activity

What does a garden that emerges from an abandoned picnic smell of? How do you make compost and compost yourself? What sun-based systems invite us to imagine desirable futures? The Abundance Lab is a meeting place, a starting point: we can decide what we want to be from now on, and it’s best to do it together.

Between Mad Max dystopias and eco-anxiety, we need new, inspiring horizons. Solarpunk[CM1]  is an emerging countercultural movement that aims to provide an imaginative and constructive response to problems like the climate emergency, social inequality and the crisis of democracy.

The Abundance Lab seeks to create an ever-evolving hub for aesthetic and cultural innovation, based on a unique starting point: we can decide what we want to be from now on. And it’s best to do it together.

The terrace garden at the Museo CA2M continues to grow thanks to a group of local residents who provide it with tender loving care by planting seasonal crops, preparing and aerating the soil, managing sustainable watering and organic pest control, supplying compost and maintaining the beds to ensure that everything thrives. If you’d like to join the group—whether because you want to learn the basics from scratch or because you have lots of experience to share—write to us at

PROGRAMME

PREAMBLING. 16 January, 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. Introductory session

What sun-based systems invite us to imagine desirable futures? Preambling is the first meeting of the Abundance Lab, a starting point: what cuttings does our garden emanate from?

We’ll begin by focusing on and pooling our points of reference and desires, seeds from which we’ll take cuttings to lay down the foundations of a garden. Our guest on this occasion is Emilio Santiago Muiño, a social anthropologist and researcher at the CSIC who will provide us with some background about the current international scene in terms of ecology and the crisis of ecosystems. He’ll help us to map where we are right now so that together we can then chart a path in the direction we want to go. If you're concerned about what’s happening and not sure what you can do about it, this is the place for you.

NEXT SESSIONS 30 January: start of the collective project; 13 and 27 February; 13 and 27 March; 10 and 24 April; 15 and 29 May; 12 June.

Xisela Garcia Moure is an expert in organic farming, permaculture and specialised techniques for urban vegetable gardens and sustainable food. She’s also an active member of the Instituto de Transición Rompe el Círculo [Break the Circle Transition Institute] and has coordinated the CA2M Terrace Garden since 2013.

Marina Viñaras Germano orbits and inhabits spaces related to ecosystems, identity and neurodivergence. Currently focusing on landscaping practice, she belongs to the collective where things continue and to the Iniciativa Regadera [Watering Can Initiative], through which she explores new ways of relating to territory.

El Cine Rev[b]elado is a live arts programme that interrelates cinema with other artistic disciplines through performative practices. The project invites audiences to approach cinematography from more experiential perspectives with the aim of expanding and shifting its boundaries, generating proposals that interrogate and transform the language of cinema language, and that rebel against the passive viewing of projected images.

Launched in February 2014 at the Museo CA2M, El Cine Rev[b]elado continues more than a decade later, pursuing a consistent line of research that explores the potential of performance as a tool for questioning the traditional logistics of cinema.

This seventh edition presents a series of reflections on image saturation in the twenty-first century. Placing the body centre stage, it offers a new interpretation of cinematographic formats and genres, with four proposals by artists who explore cinema from the perspectives of diversity and risk. We also want to support and share the new works by artists who have taken part in previous editions and re-engage now with the context and audiences of the present edition.

PROGRAMME

Sunday 1 February, 6.30 pm I DE LLUNY I Verónica Navas

Sunday 8 February, 6.30 pm I P.O.V. (WORKING PROGRESS) I Núria Guiu

Sunday 15 February, 6.30 pm I SPOOKY I María Jurado 

Sunday 22 February, 6.30 pm I IF IT WERE A MOVIE I Macarena Recuerda Shepherd 

PLAYTIME AUDIOVISUALES

Founded by Natalia Piñuel Martín and Enrique Piñuel Martín in 2007, this Madrid-based research platform is focused on cultural management and contemporary artistic practices, carrying out curatorial projects for art venues, museums and institutions like Espacio Fundación Telefónica, La Casa Encendida, Caixa Fórum, Azkuna Zentroa, MUSAC, Tabakalera, Instituto Cervantes, Centro Cultural de España in Mexico, and Index in Stockholm. Key projects include “Visiones contemporáneas. Últimas tendencias del cine y el vídeo en España” at Domus Artium 2002 (DA2) in Salamanca since 2013; “She Makes Noise”, the festival that promotes the role of women and non-binary identities in electronic music; and “El Cine Rev[b]elado”, the biennial dedicated to performance at the Museo CA2M, since 2014. Playtime Audiovisuals co-founded the contemporary Spanish film festival “L.A. OLA”, with showcases in Los Angeles, New York and Mexico City, and they were independent cinema distributors for twelve years. They are regular contributors to different communication media and podcasts, also working as educators.

In recent years we’ve been delving into the world of dance through Odd Dance, a workshop for all kinds of individuals, with all kinds of experiences on dance floors, at street parties and in ballrooms. Thanks to this initiative, we've learned how to connect with our own and others’ bodies; we've expanded our creativity by moving and trying different types of fun dances. Now the time has come to go one step further, to take a chassé en avant... It’s time to create our own dance company!

We’re convinced that your dances and ways of experiencing them have marvellous potential, which is why we invite you to join the Real Ballet of Museo CA2M, a company that embraces all forms of moving and being, without any physical or technical requirements. This is a “Real” company: with its histories, gestures and rhythms; real people with their desires, uncertainties and unique ways of dancing; real lives that move and intersect, that form a community.

As a company, we want to explore ways of engaging with everything that forms part of the Museo CA2M—exhibitions, activities, people, etc.—using live art and different movement styles and languages. We operate as a stable company that investigates, experiments and shares dance through everyday life, sensibility and collective action. We use live art and the languages of movement to forge bonds, tell stories and protect memories that can't be kept in a display case. We want the museum to be a place where the intangible heritage of dance—its gestures, wisdoms and methods—is protected and passed on to others.

The company is closely linked to the museum’s ecosystem, establishing dialogues with its exhibitions, activities and communities. Through live art and contemporary choreographic languages, different disciplines, contexts and people intersect, expanding the possibilities of what this practice can be.

If you're over 16 years old and want to join a community focused on dance practices and performativity; have an open mind about what dance and dancing can—or can't—be; are keen to experiment with and investigate the richness of movement, whether on the street or on a stage; and aren't afraid to be seen exploring things you haven't mastered yet... The Real Ballet of Museo CA2M is your dance company!

DATES 2026

• 17 and 31 January
• 7 and 21 February
• 14 and 21 March
• 11 and 25 April
• 9 and 23 May
• 13 and 20 June

Important: You don’t need to have previously taken part in Odd Dance to sign up. The group is open to anyone who wants to join it.

 Oihana Altube is a dancer and choreographer, who has also trained as a dance movement therapist. She works at the margins of dance and live art. Like all great dance companies, the Real Ballet of Museo CA2M sometimes invites choreographers and artists to work with the members, and this year we’ll be joined by Javier Vaquero. Oihana Altube, dancer and artist, operates at the margins of dance, live art and psycho-physical (therapeutic) practices.  Her work addresses dance as a power to transform lives and society. She uses western academic dance, somatic practices, dance movement therapy, expanded choreography and situated art practices as a means of action.

Javier Vaquero is a choreographer, arts administrator and educator who has forged an international career in contemporary dance and cross-disciplinary creation. His work explores the body as a place of knowledge, resonance and storytelling, investigating the relationships between movement, language and identity from a queer and situated perspective.

Gentle fold, slow cooked is an exercise that revolves around pausing. Targeted at families who visit the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, the activity consists of five sessions where the aim is to transform the museum into a living laboratory by activating the creative role of audiences. In this fortnightly programme, the acts of playing and testing will merge with the institutional space as we harness all three to unlearn haste and slow down time.

Taking the body as the starting point, each session will be articulated around a particular sense, enabling us to approach sight through contemplation, touch through creation, smell through memory, taste through food and hearing through expecting. The proposed variations of the senses will give us tools to embrace resting and a type of non-productive action in a creative manner.

The programme will close with a final collective gathering where we will pool our shared experiences and discoveries.

PROGRAMME

• Slow blinking. Saturday, 4 October: 5.00–7.00 pm

Contemplation—SIGHT—as a break with productivity and work. Observing without expectation, being open to surprises and chance encounters: to the plant growing between the cracks in the pavement or the cloud shaped like an ostrich.

• Drawing. Saturday, 18 October: 5.00–7.00 pm

Making—TOUCH—through play and repetition, as a creativity wake-up. Making something that serves no purpose and defending its uselessness. Making and unmaking. Playing with the scraps.

• Caressing and cuddling. Saturday, 8 November: 11.30–1.30 pm

Memory—SMELL—as roots, collective imagination and belonging. Poking our little noses through the cracks of time. How do smells connect us to recollections?

• The fold on the table. Saturday, 15 November: 11.30–1.30 pm

Eating—TASTE—as a facilitator of spaces for gathering and interpersonal development.  Sharing. Everyone with their own history and their own way of breaking bread.

• Ssssssssshhhhhh. Saturday, 29 November: 11.30–1.30 pm

Expecting—HEARING—as an active listening exercise and concentration game. The pretext for exposing ourselves to other narratives and other lives in resistance. What do your ears hear while you take a nap?

• The last best night. Neither the last, nor the best, nor at night. Vol. III. Saturday, 13 December: 5.00–7.00 pm

A drop-in session, open to anyone who wants to come and share the discoveries made during the programme. A collective closure to pool shared experiences and the lessons learned along the way.

This programme is conceived as a shared itinerary. When assigning places, we’ll therefore give priority to families that can join us for most of the sessions. We want to create a group that grows together, discovering and enjoying every gathering.

Registrations through the online form.

Regarding ages, if your family includes little ones, they are welcome to join us. We’ll do our best to make them feel comfortable and share this creative space with them.

If places become available as the activity progresses, we’ll contact people on the waiting list to find out if they are still interested in signing up.

POMPA is a collective management, curating and cultural creation project developed by Mara Sannia and Irene Aguilera Martín. Exploring the activation of enjoyment through pausing and resting, it was founded as a self-management initiative in 2021 with the aim of using management and cultural mediation tools in creative and art production processes through slow, situated rhythms. In addition to continuing their practical research on resting as a tool and creative trigger, Mara and Irene pursue the creation of new spaces for production, encounters, exhibitions and celebrations, spaces that are critical and reflective as well as unhurried and accessible.

Directed by: José Luis González Macías and Lía Peinador 

‘Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.’ We are embarking on our journey to an imprecise destination with this blunt yet honest invitation attributed to the explorer Ernest Shackleton to recruit the crew for his legendary expedition to Antarctica.

Literature, curiosity and emotion will be our baggage on this voyage. We will embrace drifting and failure. We will make uncertainty our ally because if we accept it, we cannot do absolutely anything against its affronts or whims. We will camouflage ourselves in the thin line of boundaries and cross imaginary borders, directionless. We will walk in the shadow of thresholds. We’ll keep our senses alert. We’ll search for all types of traces. We’ll look for empty frames. We’ll invent the great beyond and be happy in our folly.

In this Universidad Popular course, we’ll turn into archaeologists of the everyday and adventurers of the infra-ordinary to set sail towards that unknown place where beyond falls the sea.

Lía Peinador is a publisher and translator and the head of Ediciones Menguantes (menguantes.com). She has taught several workshops on sound and independent publishing.

José Luis González Macías is a writer, designer, publisher and fan of maps since he was a boy. His book Breve Atlas de los Faros del Fin del Mundo [Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses of the World], which has been translated into more than fifteen languages, won the National Award for Best Edited Book in 2021.

The CA2M Museum offers a line of training activities in contemporary art and thinking framed within the tradition of the Universidad Popular, or adult education. These classes address some of the fundamental approaches to understanding and interpreting art today. They are divided into two parts: the first one consists of a guest speaker outlining a topic, while the second one is an open debate where the audience can have the floor. This organisation may shift into more experimental formats depending on the topic of each session.

PROGRAMME

23 April              THE INACCESSIBLE POLE / Lía Peinador and González Macías

30 April              ‘TO DIE WOULD BE AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE’: INVENTING THE GREAT BEYOND / Sabina Urraca

7 May                 AN EMPTY FRAME / Raúl Alaejos and Hilo Moreno

14 May               BORDERS / Paula Ducay and Inés García (Punzadas Sonoras)

21 May               PARALLEL AND TEMPORARY LOST AND FOUND OFFICE (PTLFO) / Carolina Arabia

You must have attended four of the sessions to receive accreditation of the course upon request.

Through gallery encounters with different artists, this programme suggests an encounter that plays with uncertainty, surprise and thrills. Three times a month, the CA2M Museum invites local artists, curators or researchers to share their interests with the public to connect their practices, careers or inquiries with the exhibitions underway.

They thus become the guides on exhibition tours during which they share their creative processes by engaging them in dialogue with the exhibitions they are seeing to generate shared conversations. This programme aims to be a dialogue experience between the guest artists and the visitors, an encounter that aims to take the pulse of creation through words and listening, associating Madrid’s creators with the artistic practices of the exhibitions underway in an attempt to turn the museum into an epicentre of contemporary artistic reflection.

This series seeks to expand not only the museum’s boundaries but also the way in which an exhibition takes shape in the imaginary of the guided tour, attempting to build a community around art and make the CA2M Museum meeting point for artists, audiences and creation. The goal is to experience, share and forge a new relationship with contemporary creation to generate an intimate space where the line between the creator and spectator is blurred, paving the way for a fluid dialogue that amplifies the voices of local and global art.

Prior registration required by phoning 91 276 02 21, emailing ca2m@madrid.org or going to the museum’s reception. Maximum capacity 20 people.

The Museo CA2M is delighted to launch a unique space: morning film shows for families. The aim of the activity is to create an environment in which viewers can enjoy a great film programme in great company. Everyone is welcome: grandparents, neighbours, little brothers and sisters... We want to create an open, flexible space in which cinema expands to encompass experiences that will often leap off the screen, enabling the active participation of the audience, regardless of age. Over four Saturday sessions on 15, 22 and 29 March and 5 April, we’ll engage with cinema in its purest form, from light and movement to participatory proposals that challenge the limits of creativity.

Artists, filmmakers and programmers join us to design a different session on each occasion, although all sessions will adopt the same format: screenings of short films and audiovisuals alternated with interactive proposals. 

PROGRAMME

Saturday 15 March, 11:30 | PLAYING IMAGES, DREAMING GARDENS: CINEMA WITH ALL FIVE SENSES | ROCÍO MONTAÑO

Saturday 22 March, 11:00 and 12:30 | THREE TIMES OLDER: GROWING AS A FAMILY THROUGH CINEMA | MASSA SALVATGE

Saturday 29 March, 11:30 | LITTLE ORPHANS | SERRUCHO

Saturday 5 April, 11:30 |GASPARCOLOR | JUAN SOTO AND QUIARA MARAÑÓN

NOTE: Participants may enter and exit the room during the sessions.

This year, after a decade working together in the vegetable garden, we want to focus on experiences that give you the skills and confidence you need to cultivate a vegetable garden on your own. Whether for your private vegetable garden or our collective one on the Museo CA2M roof terrace, we’ll cover everything you need to achieve your goal and carry out a large-scale project with self-assurance. We’ll also run other workshops related to nature and environmental conservation from the perspective of our cities.

Roof Terrace Garden is a space where different generations come together to learn, build and share knowledge for the collective creation of a new urban model based on ecological sustainability and putting the good life into practice. It’s a space for devising a transition to a world that is able to provide a robust response to the major challenges of the twenty-first century.

Xisela Garcia Moure provides training in organic farming, permaculture and specialised techniques for urban vegetable gardens and sustainable food. Plus, she’s a resident of Móstoles.

MODULE 3

We say goodbye to our climate shelter with a cutting exchange activity to reproduce our little plants and continue creating a green oasis at home.

• 19 September – Introduction to the autumn garden

We kick off the season by reviewing what we learned during the months in the run-up to summer. We’ll share some new tips and introduce new attendees to the world of organic gardening.

• 26 September – Preparing the autumn garden

In this practical workshop we’ll plunge our hands into the soil to remove the summer crops  and start preparing the soil for new plants.

MODULE 4

We say goodbye to our climate shelter with a cutting exchange activity to reproduce our little plants and continue creating a green oasis at home.

• 3 October – Homemade composting workshop

No organic garden is complete without finding the best way to make its own  fertiliser with the remains of previous crops and reusing the resources offered by the environment. Learn everything you need to know to make your own compost, both at  home and in your garden.

• 10 October – Autumn associations in the garden

A new look at the association of crops but this time rethinking autumn vegetables. Help us design the garden that will feed us through the winter.

• 17 October – Autumn planting

We plunge our hands into the soil again but this time armed with the knowledge acquired in the previous sessions and planting our definitive autumn/winter garden.

• 24 October – Harvesting and using aromatic plants

A garden isn't all about vegetables. Aromatic plants have many functions and add a slice of joy to any garden. Learn about their uses and carry out some simple practices to harness all their properties.

• 31 October – Excursion to a garden

There’s no better way to end our gardening series than by getting out and visiting a garden to see how you can apply everything you've learned in a family-sized plot.

• 7 November – Caring for indoor plants I

We haven't forgotten our beloved houseplants. In this workshop we share tips on caring for and maintaining indoor plants.

• 14 November – Caring for indoor plants II

We share some more tips about indoor plants to make you an expert plant lover.

• 21 November – Protection for our crops

It is important to know how to protect our crops so that we do not lose our harvest. Whether due to inclement weather, the appearance of intruding animals or other reasons, in this workshop we will prepare you for the minor incidents that may occur in the coming months.

• 28 November – Seed sowing workshop

The cold weather in late November forces us indoors to carry out a cosier type of workshop. Learn how to sow seeds to harness all the properties of foods that are impossible to grow in November.

• 5 December – Basketmaking

We were missing doing a workshop on recovering traditional wisdom. Basketmaking is an art that we can enjoy as a group while we work with our hands and share stories about this typical local craft.

• 12 December – Basketmaking

A little extra time to finish our baskets and continue working together.

• 19 December – Christmas snacks

Big family meals are an essential part of Christmas. But you don’t have to spend much money to surprise your guests. Get ideas for the upcoming holidays at this Christmas snacks workshop.

MODULE 2

Growing different families of vegetables and getting the system up and running.

• 4 April – Planting bulbs

In this workshop we look at the best way to grow bulbs, whether flowers or root vegetables, to ensure they thrive and you can enjoy their beauty and flavour a few months down the line.

• 11 April – Planting leaf vegetables

Everything you need to know about planting leaf vegetables and other herbaceous plants, from cultivating them to treating the effects of frost, heat waves and pests.

• 25 April – Planting legumes

No organic garden is complete without legumes. These plants not only help to maintain soil fertility but offer a vital source of vegetable protein.

• 9 May – Planting fruit vegetables

The quintessential summer vegetables. Learn about the different varieties of tomatoes, aubergines, peppers... and everything you need to know about growing them in a place like Madrid.

• 16 May – Biodiversity in the vegetable garden

Not all insects are harmful. Some of them will help you to care for your plants if you give them a cosy place to thrive.  Organic treatments for pests and diseases.

• 23 May – Homemade remedies for diseases in the family vegetable garden

Now that you can identify pests in your garden, we’ll give you some ideas for eradicating them. You’ll also learn how to identify other diseases and make remedies to keep your plants healthy.

• 30 May – Out and about!

The best way to learn how to cultivate a garden is to visit similar projects so you can pick up new ideas and tips. (Advance registration is required for this workshop. Get in touch with Reception at CA2M to book your place.)

• 6 June – The organic garden diet I

Organic food isn’t just a fad. It’s a matter of health. But there’s no point going organic if you don't know how to get the full benefit.

• 13 June – The organic garden diet II

We give you more tips and recipe ideas to improve your diet for healthy eating.

• 20 June – Healthy picnic

It’s time to put into practice the recipes and knowledge you’ve acquired and share delicious flavours and dishes at an end-of-term meal.

MODULE 1

Introduction to cultivating an organic garden that produces all year round.

• Friday 7 February – Vegetables all year round

In this workshop we’ll cover the basics for creating an organic garden that produces all year round. We’ll also try to calculate the spaces and plants you need to obtain your entire vegetarian diet in a single place.

• Friday 14 February – Irrigation systems

No vegetable garden in Madrid can survive without an efficient irrigation system to compensate for the lack of rain in the hottest months of the year. What’s the best system for watering your garden?

• Friday 21 February – Green fertilisers and soil fertility

You can't create an organic garden without first examining the soil from which it will grow. What does organic, sustainable cultivation really mean?

• Friday 28 February – The edible forest

The best way to emulate nature’s wisdom is to create a system as similar as possible to the natural ecosystem. Learn how to combine trees, shrubs and vegetables in the same space.

• Friday 7 March – Designing a vegetable garden

It’s time to decide what you want to eat this summer and how you are going to organise your spaces. The design is the key to a healthy vegetable garden.

• 14 March – Spring planting

A garden grows from its seeds. Which are the best seeds for an organic garden? Learn how to prepare seedbeds.

• 21 March – Aromatic plants

No vegetable or regular garden is complete without a space for colourful aromatic plants. Edible or not, they will complement your garden and attract biodiversity.

• 28 March – The ornamental garden

A special workshop for those who enjoy having a green space in their home or garden but don’t want to commit to the work involved in growing vegetables every year. An ornamental garden is also a beautiful way to connect with nature.

Architects of Silence is a sound and musical journey that begins with a family building activity and leads to relaxation and listening. It is wordless building, a refuge against noise. Our journey will be accompanied by a soundscape created live, which invites us to relax and listen not only in the literal sense but also to pay attention to our children and perceive them from a new perspective.

This activity is designed for families to enjoy together, no matter the age. It is part of our family programme in which guest artists share their experiences and creative practices with us. Grandmothers, siblings, neighbours… you’re all welcome! We at the CA2M Museum want to offer a space where you can disconnect from your daily routine. Here, there are no adults that know more than children, who only obey; instead, we explore together, creating a corner where we can curl up and leave behind the roles we play at home.

Happy travels!

NOTE: This activity is recommended for people aged 3 and up, so they will have priority as the places are taken. However, if there is anyone under 3 in your group, they are welcome.

Tania Arias Winogradow

Performing artist, dancer, choreographer and mother. She creates devices that provide creative tools around play, movement and dance. Her projects invite us to fine-tune our listening through the sensitive body and to deploy each person’s potential for movement, enabling us to better interact with our environment. She has partnered with and participated in spaces like the Museo Reina Sofía, La Casa Encendida of Madrid and the Inspiration Persona collective. She has been investigating different languages within the live arts for over 25 years.

PROGRAMME

OCTOBER

• Saturday 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm
• Saturday 26 from 11 am to 1 pm

NOVEMBER

• Saturday 9 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm
• Saturday 16 from 11 am to 1 pm

This year, in the CA2M Summer Cabin, we spent four unforgettable days playing at being fish. We moved and danced in our own coral reef, the museum, and without realising it we turned into mute butterflies that dreamed when they were moving. We asked such curious questions as: Can a grandmother be a professional dancer? Can we dance in a museum? If we stay still, will we be dancing? These questions stayed with us and are still inspiring us.

This is why we decided to continue this adventure throughout an entire school year with this extracurricular activity. We’re going to keep playing and moving like animals to explore these and many more questions. Imagine everything you can discover and create in one year if fifteen fishes can turn into butterflies in just four days!

We are beginning with investigating our bodies and all the possible ways they can move.  We’ll dance together, with time and space, and we’ll create a place of artistic expression enriched by the group’s generational diversity.

The activity will be led by Alba Sáenz-López Aumente and Mar Sáenz-López Aumente. They are dancers, choreographers, sisters, cultural mediators and founders of the Baiven collective, an organisation that uses dance to foster the horizontal exchange of experiences, perspectives, knowledge and critical thinking. They develop exploratory activities around the performing arts and education. They seek engagement and interaction with communities and regions and try to expand the professional field of art by creating accessible, diverse spaces where anyone fits, no matter their situation, body or mind.