Casa de Velázquez is a French institution founded in 1920 which aims to promote artistic, cultural and academic cooperation and exchanges on bilateral and international scales.

Inaugurated in 1928 in Madrid's Ciudad Universitaria, the building was largely destroyed at the outbreak of the Battle of Madrid in 1936. It was reopened in its present form in May 1959.

Today, Casa de Velázquez operates under the supervision of the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) and is part of the EFE-Écoles françaises à l’étranger network.

Since its creation, Casa de Velázquez has developed its activities on the basis of a unique model, supporting both contemporary artistic creation and scientific research in the fields of Human and Social Sciences.

It carries out this dual mission through the joint action of its two components: the Académie de France in Madrid (artistic section) and the École des hautes études hispaniques et ibériques - EHEHI (scientific section).
 

• The Académie de France in Madrid coordinates actions aimed at artists from all disciplines: architecture, plastic arts, cinema, musical composition, photography, video... It is a place of creation and research as much as a place of life, which allows artists –emerging or confirmed– to consolidate their work orientations and to experiment new approaches. The AFM is in charge of the artistic programme of Casa de Velázquez, in collaboration with a wide range of local and international partners.
   

• The École des hautes études hispaniques et ibériques - EHEHI is a training centre for young researchers as well as a French research centre in the fields of Human and Social Sciences. Its scientific policy, focused on the Iberian Peninsula, the Maghreb and the Atlantic world, is structured around twenty multi-year research projects and a dozen archaeological projects. In addition, since 2016, together with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, it has been coordinating the activities of the Madrid Institute for Advanced Study - MIAS.

In total, between its two sections, Casa de Velázquez hosts and supports around a hundred researchers and artists each year, through a broad programme of residencies, from a few months to a year. In addition, and in order to promote and put the highlight on the work carried out within the institution, an extensive programme of activities open to the public is carried out throughout the year: exhibitions, screenings, concerts, meetings, symposiums...

The library –around 150,000 books and more than 1,800 journals– is open, after free registration, to anyone carrying out research work from the Master's degree onwards.

Casa de Velázquez also houses an editorial service which publishes around fifteen books each year, printed or digital –many of which accessible in open access– as well as the biannual journal, Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez.