A jorney in former and current Madrid. Mad + Mad, Urban Strategy for Veranos de la Villa 2019 by Elii

Project description by Elii

Mad x Mad is a strategic project to turn the Veranos de la Villa into a distributed festival. As in the last two editions, VdV activities spread out over the 21 districts of the Villa of Madrid to bring it closer to the people. On one hand, the festival travels around the city. On the other hand, the people of Madrid are invited to explore different public spaces around town.

The project starts off by mapping out the districts for different kinds of public spaces that will be conditioned with temporary interventions to develop the different events at this dynamic festival. The main goal of Mad x Mad is to activate and benefit from Madrid's heterogeneous heritage, opening it up to a multiple, contemporary view.

The project develops in accordance with the following methodology:

1. Research. The first step is to get an up-close look at Madrid by analyzing the local historical context of each district in the city.

2. Contact with local agents. Getting in touch with neighbors, organizations, and different institutions can help bring people closer together to understand the complexities and singularities of Madrid city dwellers' urban ecosystem.

3. Field work. Walking every inch of the districts to find what may be hidden at first glance and to assess the possibilities from the point of view of experience.

4. Mapping. Scoping out the 21 districts (Centro, Arganzuela, Retiro, Salamanca, Chamberí, Tetuán, Chamartín, Fuencarral - El Pardo, Moncloa - Aravaca, Latina, Carabanchel, Usera, Puente de Vallecas, Moratalaz, Ciudad Lineal, Hortaleza, Villaverde, Villa de Vallecas, Vicálvaro, San Blas – Canillejas and Barajas) to find locations: public spaces, parks, establishments, infrastructures, cultural centers, sports facilities, open fields, relevant buildings, unique, lovely cozy corners, ordinary places, and any number of other unsuspected venues dotting the urban geography. As well as to find neighborhood activities, local traditions and culture, etc.

With all this information in hand, the next step is to draw up a strategic map that will act as a support and database for deploying the festival.

5. Valuing. After being studied in detail, the venues are assessed for their potential for being reprogrammed and equipped for the various different activities and events. The aim is to activate and value Madrid's heterogeneous heritage, opening it up to a multiple, contemporary view.

6. Urban strategy. Multi-disciplinary teams (artistic directors, producers, musicians, publicists, security, lighting, municipal authorities, etc.) work together to come up with a joint strategy for distributing the festival across the Madrid metropolitan area. Movement throughout Madrid becomes a kind of choreography spanning time and space.

7. Adaptation. At the same time, work meetings are held with the artists to adapt their projects to the particularities of each venue. The place thus becomes one of the actors in the event.

8. Collecting and systematizing the information. Synthesizing the process, codifying, sifting, pairing and articulating the whole ensemble.

9. Technical documentation. Writing up fact sheets for each venue (capacity, accesses, public transportation, timetables for the event, time of sunset, etc.) to use as a basis for planning each event in detail.

10. Sharing and evaluating. At the end of the festival, the team assesses the development of the festival, suggesting improvements and tweaking the strategy for future editions. The festival is a living project that learns from the intelligence it mobilizes.