This proposal stems from the desire to transform the commemoration of the centenary of the building del Círculo de Bellas Artes on an occasion for critical reflection. The starting point is the defiant spirit of 'The Imperative Dream' (1991), a landmark exhibition that transformed el Círculo in a field of political and poetic friction. Twelve artists then disrupted traditional exhibition logics and intervened in the institution as a space of resistance against dominant discourses on power, gender and identity.

We do not seek to recreate that moment or replicate its languages, but to activate from the present a disruptive energy that allows us to rethink the role and power of art in the city, in institutions and in collective life.

We invite artists, activists, and collectives whose practices—sometimes intimate, sometimes explicitly political—inhabit the margins: between body and architecture, writing and space, matter and memory. Participating at the institution are Dagoberto Rodríguez, Elo Vega and Rogelio López Cuenca, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, Itziar Okariz, Los Carpinteros, María Salgado, Pedro G. Romero, Regina Silveira, Silbatriz Pons, and Tino Sehgal.

The intervention will unfold over two months, activating unexpected and less visible areas of the building, its programming, and beyond—streets, facades, routes—functioning as interferences, leaks, acupuncture points, small cracks that open new ways of listening and being present. This is not a closed-format exhibition, but rather a work in progress, open to instability, interference, and that which resists being fixed. We want to overflow the building, breathe the air of the city, and insert ourselves into its pulse.

We also propose a rediscovery of a part of this building's history that, until now, has remained hidden. Without any guarantee of success, the restorer Rocío Casasus will undertake a work of material archaeology and field research with the aim of recovering, at least in part, the work 'Sky Goddess, Minerva' (1991), created on the rooftop.el Círculo by American artist Nancy Spero for the exhibition 'The Imperative Dream'.

Rather than celebrating a building, we want to ask ourselves urgent questions: what institutions do we need today?, what bodies can inhabit them?, what frictions allow us to rethink them?

From this questioning, we envision an institution that not only proposes, but also listens; that not only represents, but also allows itself to be affected. A porous institution, permeable to conflict, open to the unexpected and to fairer ways of being together.

Programme

From March 3 to May 10 · Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–14pm and 17pm–21pm · Different spaces in the building
Guards Kissing
Constructed situation by Tino Sehgal
Courtesy of Collegium / Adrastus Collection 

As part of Minerva's owl, Angela Enero Febrero, Cuaco Navarro, Danny Javier Sanchez, Franklin Salgado, Gabriela Feldman, Jean Paul Krauss, Nacho Pajín, and Psycousin, graduates of SUR, participate in this performance conceived by Tino Sehgal. The work unfolds solely through bodies, voice, and movement, without objects or visual documentation. Activating lobbies and circulation areas, the piece proposes a direct experience that questions how the institution is inhabited and what forms of presence and relationship are possible within it.

Tuesday, March 3 · 17:30 p.m. · Hall of Columns
Untitled (Real Reflection), 2026
Performance by Pedro G. Romero with Rocío Márquez

Pedro G. Romero revives a work conceived in 1991. The sound and spatial action, in collaboration with Rocío Márquez, unfolds a system of mirrors that prevents the viewer from seeing the singer directly: image and voice arrive as reflection and echo. The piece proposes a critical reflection on “reality,” power, and its forms of representation, in dialogue with historical memory, flamenco, and institutional architecture.

From March 3 to May 5 · Every Tuesday at 18pm · Main staircase 
Of forging and air, 2026
Silbatriz Pons' performance

Action created for Minerva's owlEvery Tuesday at 18 pm, Silbatriz Pons will whistle while seated on the main staircase, transforming the building into a resonating chamber. The whistling—born from breath—permeates the space and transforms it into a vibrant body. A minimal intervention that crosses the everyday and the transcendent, making sound wall, ceiling, and floor until it disappears. 

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 · 18:30 PM · Presidential Hall (3rd Floor)
Untitled (King of Dreams), 2026
Performance by Pedro G. Romero with Perrate

Created for Minerva's owlThis action stems from an earlier work linked to the monarchical imaginary and the symbolic construction of power. Perrate performs traditional lyrics a cappella that question the figure of the king, activating a tension between popular culture and institution. Recorded with period equipment, the performance transforms the everyday space of transit into a critical stage where "the real" and "the Royal" merge as both set and representation.

From March 3rd to May 10th · Every day at 20pm · Radio Círculo
Dream Diary, 2013/2026
A daily sound recording documenting the previous night's dream of artist Itziar Okariz. You can listen to all the dreams. this link.

Friday, March 6 · 21:30 p.m. · Hall of Columns
A palo limpio, 2026
Performance by Dagoberto Rodríguez with Andiley Mojena, Arnaldo Lescay, Jorbel Isturiz, Julio Rigal and Lenny X

Created especially for Minerva's owlThis performance expands upon a previous project by the artist, featuring four musicians who embody his rhythmic drive. The piece confronts celebration and repression: each percussion beat oscillates between festive rhythm and punitive violence. The military march transforms into a rumba, revealing how spectacle, power, and control share the same sonic structure.

Saturday, March 7 · 11am · Minerva Room
Guided visit
Tour with the artists María Salgado, Elo Vega and Rogelio López Cuenca, along with the exhibition curator, Isabella Lenzi

Saturday, April 11 · 18:30 p.m. · Minerva Hall
Guided visit
With the artist Silbatriz Pons and the exhibition curator, Isabella Lenzi

Friday, April 24 · 22pm · Billiards Room
at night / silver / towards, 2026
Reading by María Salgado, with Eddi Circa

María Salgado is an artist and poet. She combines writing and performance in the search for a sound that reconnects with the world and with desire, with the desire for the world. Minerva's owl, proposes opening the Billiards Room —a space usually reserved for members del Círculo— for a late-night reading of poems and essays from his latest book, Lyric, accompanied by the composer and singer Eddi Circa.

Sunday, May 10 · 12:30pm · Minerva Hall
Guided visit
With the artist Dagoberto Rodríguez and the exhibition curator, Isabella Lenzi

Image credits: Exhibition 'The Imperative Dream'. Projection on the Arc de Triomphe (1991), by Krzysztof Wodiczko.