Matadero Madrid, a contemporary creation center of the Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, continues to experiment with new formats and dynamics of free play in its program of activities aimed at the family audience. Following the success of the Diminuto Festival, which transformed Plaza Matadero into a multidisciplinary play space, comes Universo Criaturas, a free installation to enjoy with the family, participating in a creative large-scale construction, which will be in Nave Una of Nave 17 from March 7th to 16th.
With the subtitle of Playing Seriously and aimed at an audience from three years old, Universo Criaturas is a creation of Criaturas Infinitas that seeks to promote intergenerational play and learning spaces, where play, art, and experimentation come together.
A large-scale installation to imagine, create, and inhabit
The 400 m² of Nave Una in Matadero Madrid will be the setting for this proposal that connects creative play with arts, architecture, and design, inviting visitors of all ages to experiment with form, space, and light. Through a simple assembly mechanism, foam cylinders, known as ‘pool noodles’, are the basis of this modular system that allows for open, unstructured building, connecting, and transforming.
The installation is structured in three areas, seeking the integration of different skills, thus expanding its range of action and connection with a diverse audience. On one hand, Villa Calma is a quiet space where big ideas are formalized on a small scale. Here, the construction pieces are smaller than in the other areas, to promote the development of fine motor skills.
Secondly, Rincón vivo is a workshop to invent shelters and inhabit new worlds. In this area, participants can design and inhabit their own structures made with large pieces. Finally, Laboratorio de seres is an area for researching new creatures, bringing extraordinary beings to life, creating costumes, and inventing characters with a mirror runway to encounter.
A creation of Criaturas Infinitas
Criaturas Infinitas is a playful-educational project that was born in 2020, within the Juguetoría call from Medialab Prado, the predecessor municipal center of the current Medialab Matadero. Led by Eva Gordo and Fernanda Tenorio, Criaturas Infinitas is based on the design of its own creative construction, fostering free play away from digital screens.
In constant evolution, the project continues its research understanding play as a way to inhabit the world with wonder and creativity, essential for development and growth, with the intention of reclaiming it in public spaces and daily life. Criaturas Infinitas focuses on both children and adult audiences, seeking a curious look at transformation and creative fun, fostering playful, inclusive, and diverse contexts. /
