In 1983, el Círculo de Bellas Artes It embarked on a transformation process that would profoundly mark its recent history. After years of difficulties and limited programming, the institution began a structural and conceptual renewal that redefined its role in Spanish cultural life during the 1980s and 1990s. From that moment on, el Círculo It established itself as a benchmark, open to contemporary debate and with an international projection that placed it among the most dynamic cultural centers in the country.

This exhibition revisits that period of renewal, marked by the opening ofel Círculo to the public and the desire to become a multidisciplinary, innovative cultural center connected to the needs of its time. A permeable and experimental space where practical and theoretical teaching coexisted, and where art, thought, music, film, and architecture intersected.

The diversity and quality of the figures who passed through el Círculo During this period, the magnitude of the project became evident. Susan Sontag, Jean Baudrillard, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and Massimo Cacciari gave lectures that introduced international intellectual debates to Madrid. Artists such as Nancy Spero, Julio Le Parc, Julian Schnabel, and Luis Gordillo led art workshops that attracted young creators, while photographers like Javier Vallhonrat, Eikoh Hosoe, and Lucien Clergue offered specialized training at a time of expansion for the photographic medium. Architecture also played a prominent role with the presence of Sáenz de Oiza and Álvaro Siza, and cinema found a space for reflection and learning with filmmakers like Pilar Miró and Luis García Berlanga. Simultaneously, poets such as John Berger, Allen Ginsberg, Antonio Gamoneda, and José Ángel Valente filled the halls with readings that became milestones in Madrid's literary life.

In this climate of cultural effervescence, pioneering initiatives emerged such as the 1st National Video Festival, the FOCO photography festival, and the Group Círculo, a chamber orchestra specializing in contemporary music. These proposals not only responded to the artistic transformations of the time, but also contributed to introducing emerging languages ​​and practices to Spain.

Curated by Oliva María Rubio, the exhibition offers an articulated look at this period of renewal, highlighting the capacity ofel Círculo to reinvent itself and affirm its vocation as an open, pluralistic, and experimental space. Through artworks, photographic and audiovisual records, and other archival materials, the exhibition invites visitors to understand how the institution became, in just a few years, a cultural engine that accompanied the creative awakening of democratic Spain.

Image credits: Julio Le Parc and students at the Workshop To Le Parc del Retiro, 1985