From the Wonderful World of Alice to Weimar and Oceania

From the wonderful and seductive world of Alice to the culturally explosive years of the Weimar Republic or to Oceania to explore the creativity and artistic sensitivity of the Pacific island ethnicities, passing through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This is the eclectic proposal of CaixaForum Madrid for its 2024-2025 exhibition season, which will host four major shows. It continues to collaborate with renowned museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum in London, without forsaking its own productions.

The season will open on October 16 with 'Uncertain Times. Germany Between Wars', a multidisciplinary exhibition dedicated to the tumultuous and effervescent years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). "A period in which Germany sought to refound itself through a democracy that, not without tensions, fostered an explosion of artistic creativity, thought, and social progress," say the organizers.

Combining artworks, historical documents, cinema, music, and interactive elements, the exhibition demonstrates "how during this period uncertainty became the spirit of the age." A circumstance seized upon by prominent figures of the time who shaped the modern world, such as Thomas Mann, Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, Jeanne Mammen, or Albert Einstein. The exhibition, which will feature loans from neighboring museums Thyssen and Reina Sofia, will be on display until February 23, 2025.

'The Worlds of Alice. Dreaming Wonderland', organized in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, will arrive at CaixaForum Madrid on April 3 next year. It will be the largest show dedicated to this Victorian cultural phenomenon that is part of today's collective imagination. On display until August 10, 2025, it delves into the antecedents and context of Lewis Carroll's work and reviews its interpretations in cinema, visual arts, fashion, or science.

With a theatrical and immersive staging, it offers a broad vision of the character and includes a playful dimension and a space for reflection that establishes a dialogue between Alice's world and our current one. It asserts the relevance of Alice's character almost 160 years after her creation in Lewis Carroll's imagination.

It presents the universal character from a broad perspective as a protagonist in different worlds where she has been reinterpreted. "It is the first exhibition that offers a comprehensive view of the impact and influence of this Victorian work, a cultural phenomenon in terms of its reach and a source of inspiration for the most creative minds," highlight its organizers.

'Voices of the Pacific. Innovation and Tradition', will arrive courtesy of the British Museum on May 27 and will close on September 21, 2025. From Easter Island to Micronesia, it presents itself as a grand celebration of the creativity and artistic sensitivity of the peoples of the Pacific islands. It will feature over 200 pieces belonging to British Museum collections from various Pacific islands.

With historical artifacts and works by contemporary artists reflecting Oceanic art's richness, among historical and contemporary pieces are ceremonial paddles to exquisitely carved basalt ancestor figures.

"Oceania is a complex web of islands and cultures united by the Pacific Ocean; an ocean that has not only been their means of subsistence but has inspired their creativity development. Fans and fishing hooks, clubs and canoes—practically everything is beautifully crafted with decorations imbued with spiritual meaning," emphasize CaixaForum representatives.

The program continues until April 6 with 'Dinosaurs of Patagonia', opened in July and organized in collaboration with Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum (MEF). The exhibition reviews the evolution and great diversity of dinosaurs that inhabited one of the richest regions in paleontological remains of these fascinating animals.

One of the star pieces of the exhibition, which contains 13 dinosaur specimens, is a life-size replica of the largest known dinosaur to date, 'Patagotitan mayorum', a Cretaceous giant measuring 38 meters long and weighing 77 tons.

Besides this giant, more life-size replicas are exhibited, such as another one of the largest dinosaurs ('Tyrannotitan chubutensis'); the smallest one at barely 75 centimeters ('Manidens condorensis'), and two of the oldest ones that lived about 230 million years ago ('Eoraptor lunensis' and 'Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis').

'We Grow in Culture' is the slogan for this exhibition program presented this Wednesday by Isabel Salgado, Director of Exhibitions and Collection at Fundación 'la Caixa', along with Isabel Fuentes, Director of CaixaForum Madrid. Both emphasized CaixaForum network's model "which reflects Fundación La Caixa's firm commitment to disseminating knowledge, culture, and science as drivers for social transformation."