4 minute read
Madrid’s secret sea
Walking along Calle Alcalá, almost until Puerta del Sol, we saw a procession of majestic buildings one after the other, like a catwalk for haute couture. This time, instead of the facades being the center of attention, it seemed that we were the ones marching in formation, and they were looking at us. High up from their perspective, little birds perch on reddish rooftops, colorful tiles blaze from a distance, and dancing plants swing through old balconies. White curtains flutter, threatening to jump through an open window from some of the tallest buildings on the city’s most crowded square. Up here, it’s a different world. Madrid is about living in two different worlds at the same time. Once you find the best way to get up there, the city’s best kept secret is revealed: an endless sea with a horizon that stretches as far as the eye can see. Maybe you’ve been called gato (cat) at some point, if you are from Madrid. This goes back to a spring day in 1085, when Spain was taken by the Muslims and King Alfonso VI’s troops started to approach the impregnable ramparts of Madrid to reconquer it from the Arabs. Many failed before, but that day, an agile soldier separated from the group—and only with the help of his knife—climbed the fortifications and successfully switched the Arabic flag for the Christian one. From then on, he was nicknamed el gato (the cat), a name that passed on to his descendants, and on to everyone from Madrid. Maybe this is why Madrileños love to climb to the rooftops, and from up there, escape the city’s chaos and stare at the horizon. De Madrid al cielo—from Madrid to the sky—is the city’s motto, true to the idea of how much we like to try to reach it. And to do that, you need to know where to find the right stairs to climb.
El Círculo de Bellas Artes Located at Calle Alcalá, this was built in 1880 thanks to the efforts of a small group of artists. Now, its objective is to disseminate artistic and cultural manifestations
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from a plural perspective. Its rooftop was, not so many years ago, a big open-air desert area that showcased spontaneous photography exhibitions. It has changed a lot and has become one of the trendiest bars to see the sunset from.
El Corte Inglés at Preciados Street The ninth floor of one of the most visited buildings in Madrid, El Corte Inglés at Calle Preciados, has a beautiful terrace just above the most bustling place in town. From here, it’s possible to spot an amazing array
of tiles and roofs from a different perspective.
In the old part of town, in one of the buildings nestled in between Gran Via’s narrow streets, you will find an old hostel where you can spy on the rooftops nearby and be a little closer to Madrid’s sky. Views reserved only for a few. Rooftops are our private seas, and it’s hard to put into words the serenity we find here. So, if we are nowhere to be found on the ground, come join us up here. ¢
A home for lovers of art, books, and coffee
An art gallery, book store, coffee shop and artist’s residency in Madrid brings together multiple passions and purposes in one eclectic space.
Words by OLGA KOTNOWSKA Pictures by ADRIÁN CANO FRANCO
Swinton and Grant are the consequence of curiosity: curiosity about the process of creating art, and curiosity about what happens when you offer a space where like-minded people can come together and share their passion and interest with their community. The soul of this project is perhaps most notably driven by its creators’ respect for art. Goyo Villasevil and Sergio Bang, the proprietors of Swinton and Grant, express their gratitude for artists and their provocative, beautiful, important work by offering a space where the artists, their creations—whether through actual bodies of work or documented in books—and the general public meet.
Swinton and Grant is an art gallery, a bookstore, a coffee shop, and an artist residency in one. How does it all function as a whole? Goyo: What we have here is basically a space divided into three separate sections, each operating as its own business. This is why we appointed different names: Ciudadano Café and Librería (coffee shop and bookstore) and Swinton Gallery. Sergio: As a whole, this place functions exactly how we intended it to: as a community for both artists and those interested in art, especially street art. Now, more artists are becoming aware of this space and what we’re doing here, and so more and more artists are showing
interest and are dropping by. This space has become a meeting point for artists to chat and even to collaborate. But it also functions as a meeting point for artists and the public who are interested in what they are creating. Goyo: The gallery is, in a way, our honorable way of saying thank you to all of the artists—the ones that have inspired, intrigued, entertained and compelled us to think—by offering them a respectable space where they can exhibit their work. Each exhibition lasts for about six months, with some time in between so that the space can breathe a little, and be ready for the interpretation of the next artist.
