Every Tuesday 20:00 hours – 22:00 hours
Search for ‘Dibujo Madrid’ in Facebook
‘La Tabacalera’ Calle Embajadores 53
www.latabacalera.net
On the scale of cool, things do not get any better than the activities taking place these days in Madrid’s abandoned tobacco factory. La Tabacalera in Embajadores hosts a wide range of cultural activities in its dilapidated innards. One of them is a group of people who meet every Tuesday to sit down and draw for a few hours.
Two hundred years ago a factory was opened in the centre of Madrid, where 1.000 women earned a living manufacturing cigarettes and cigars and gained a reputation for being highly organized, independent and passionate. The factory was closed ten years ago, but the passion, social awareness and smoke has returned last year, with the opening of the factory, now as a centre for anybody with a wish to organize things. The activities take place on the first floor and in the basement and give you a small idea of how huge this place must have been not so long ago.
Anything you can possibly think of is organized here, but the centre is not remodeled. It is just a space and there is a strong okupa-atmosphere (It seems the new anti-smoke law is not applied here for maría). If you are not of the culture-kind, then just pop in and check out the cafeteria on the right.
Every Tuesday night a group of people gathers to draw. In the basement they sit down with their sheets, pencils, BIC ballpoints and they reproduce the poses that a few of the group members are showing on the main stage. Dibujo Madrid was started last year and this Tuesday will be the 48th time that they will meet. Many has changed since the start of the group, but they are still as welcoming to everybody who likes to join. The level is very high, but also people with more enthusiasm than skills can sit down and just draw. It does not matter if you are good or not: as long as you can stand the unheated basement for 2 hours (dress well!), come along and draw.
Entrance is free, you’ll be able to make 4-5 drawings in these 2 hours with any material you bring and after the ‘class’ many meet in a bar close by to show each other results. The brave then post their drawings on Facebook.
Mydrid, my city 