José Luis Ramos Romo, new artistic director of Matadero Madrid

Matadero Madrid, the centre for contemporary creation that is part of the City Council’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport, is opening a new chapter under the artistic direction of José Luis Ramos Romo, Director General of Cultural Programmes and Activities, who takes over from Rosa Ferré.

Ramos Romo embarks on this new period at the Matadero with the challenge of bringing together different artistic expressions through a dynamic, innovative and multidisciplinary programme that showcases the cultural essence of Madrid, giving it national and international projection and opening it up to all audiences. All of this with the aim of continuing to grow as the undisputed cultural reference point of the city of Madrid, while respecting the diversity and plurality of voices that are the hallmark of this space.

Ramos Romo is known not only for his professional career in cultural management and communication, but also for his in-depth knowledge of the City Council’s Department of Culture and Matadero Madrid itself, with its different programmes and activities, such as the Matadero’s Naves del Español stage space, Cineteca Madrid (Film Archive) with its three cinemas dedicated to non-commercial cinema, the projects undertaken by Intermediae, Medialab and the Centre for Artists in Residence, all of which specialise in implementing collaborative strategies with the city’s artistic fabric in order to promote artistic creation and production, as well as cultural research and innovation.

As an important cultural centre, Matadero Madrid is also home to cultural institutions and projects such as the Casa del Lector, the Central de Diseño, the Association of Associated Visual Artists of Madrid (AVAM) and Madrid Artes Digitales, with which it collaborates on a regular basis. It also has agreements with other national and international institutions, without losing sight of the needs of local residents. In this way, the new artistic director intends to ensure that Matadero Madrid continues to be a space for interdisciplinary artistic creation, production and exhibition, as well as an inclusive and intergenerational public meeting place that provides the setting for a highly diverse cultural programme that includes concerts, theatre, festivals, exhibitions and activities designed and programmed by the Coordination Office.

Ramos Romo’s professional career
José Luis Ramos Romo is the former Director General of Cultural Programmes and Activities and, since 2019, a specialist advisor on performing arts and communication for the Madrid City Council’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport.

Before that, he was a member of the editorial staff of El Mundo for 13 years, where he was responsible for the Stage and Art section of the newspaper’s La Luna de Metrópoli magazine, as well as writing for the Culture, La Esfera de los Libros, Papel and Madrid sections. Throughout his career as a journalist, he has collaborated with other publications such as Shangay and Rockdelux. He has also taken part as a lecturer or jury member in activities organised by institutions such as the Centro Dramático Nacional, the Juan March Foundation, the Mérida Festival, the Eñe Festival, the Autumn Festival and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

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