Instituto Cervantes London

GOYA NETWORK
Francisco de Goya’s influence on 19th-century French art and literature

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The lecture by Paula Fayos Paula Fayos Pérez will first explore Francisco de Goya’s influence on 19th-century French art and literature, and the mechanisms that enabled the dissemination and reception of his work. Drawing on Fayos Pérez’s recent book, the talk examines how French audiences interpreted Goya as an embodiment of exotic, literary Spain, as well as a caricaturist, a politically engaged artist who rebelled against authority.

The book also presents the first catalogue of the copies of Eugène Delacroix after Goya’s Caprichos.
This research revealed hundreds of individuals—artists, writers, collectors and patrons—who acted as intermediaries, interpreters and promoters of Goya’s work. A direct product of this scholarship, the Goya Network, brings these figures to the centre of the analysis. Developed from over a decade of art-historical research, now combined with tools from Digital Humanities, the Goya Network is an interactive, collaborative database that visualises the personal and professional relationships among all these agents linked to Goya—so far focused on Spain and France. From the Madrazo family to Victor Hugo’s cenacle and the Parisian salonnières, the platform maps the sociability structures that built Goya’s legacy. Continuously expanding, the Goya Network aims to become a standard research tool for scholars, curators, lecturers and students.

Event in English and chaired by Manuela B. Mena Marqués.

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📅 Tuesday 7 July
📍Sala Luis Cernuda
⏰ 6:30PM
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1991696763635?aff=oddtdtcreator

Gracias a Alejandra Carles-Tolrá por la visita a nuestro centro y por la donación de su fotolibro The Bears, que recibió el premio Mejor Libro de Fotografía en categoría Creación de PHotoEspańa en el ańo 2025.

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Thanks to Alejandra Carles-Tolrá for visiting our center and for donating her photo book The Bears, which received the award for Best Photography Book in the Creation category at PHotoESPAÑA in 2025

Alejandra Carles-Tolrá PHotoESPAÑA

Big thank you to Peruvian author Gabriel Núñez del Prado for the donation of his book “Cristóbal”, now available in our library.

LORCA AND THE ARCHIVE
MEMORY IN MOTION

Lorca y el archivo emerges as a powerful tribute marking the 90th anniversary of Federico García Lorca’s assassination, revisiting his life, voice, and enduring legacy through documents, memory, and performance. The show interweaves archival materials with poetic interpretation, bringing Lorca’s spirit into the present while reflecting on themes of repression, creativity, and cultural identity. More than a commemoration, it invites audiences to rediscover the poet’s relevance today, honoring not only his tragic death in 1936 but also the timeless vitality of his words.

This event consists of two lectures: one on la Generación del 27 and the importance of La Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid for Spanish culture, and the second one on the exhibition Lorca and the Archive: Memory in Motion, curated by Andrew A. Anderson, Melissa Dinverno and Christopher Maurer.

Lectures by Dr. Melissa Dinverno —Associate Professor of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Indiana University Bloomington and curator of the exhibition Lorca and The Archive, on show at La Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid, and Dr. Stephen Roberts— Professor from the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin - Nottingham University.

“The Residencia de Estudiantes and the Generation of 1927” by Stephen Roberts.

“Storytelling Archives: García Lorca and Memory in Motion” by Melissa Diverno.

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Event organised in collaboration with La Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid.

Event in English.



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📆 Thursday 25 June
📍Sala Luis Cernuda
⏰ 6:30PM
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1991389689167?aff=oddtdtcreator

Misteri d’Elx, one of the most singular cultural manifestations of Europe’s intangible heritage and declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, comes to London in an exceptional concert to be held at St Etheldreda’s Church, one of the city’s most emblematic historic churches.

This concert offers a unique opportunity to experience the musical and spiritual richness of the Misteri, a medieval sacred lyrical drama that has been performed uninterruptedly for more than five centuries in the city of Elche. Through its chants, audiences will discover a living tradition that brings together music, liturgy, theatre and collective memory, passed down from generation to generation as an essential part of Mediterranean cultural identity.

The concert is organised by Instituto Cervantes London, in collaboration with the City Council of Elche, the Government of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana) and the Embassy of Spain in London, as part of their shared commitment to the international promotion of Spain’s cultural heritage.

The choice of St Etheldreda’s Church as the venue enhances the spiritual and symbolic character of the Misteri, providing an ideal setting for attentive listening and contemplation. With this event, London becomes a meeting point for cultures and traditions, offering British and international audiences the chance to encounter and enjoy one of the oldest and most extraordinary expressions of Europe’s musical and theatrical heritage.

The revenue from the concert will be donated to a local Choir Charity. Choir to be decided.

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📅 Friday 17 July
📍St. Etheldreda’s Roman Catholic Church
⏰ 7pm
🎟️ £10 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1990881027747?aff=oddtdtcreator

terrenos by .studio - part of the show Degrees of Contact - organised by

Open from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 24 June
11 am to 6pm
35a Britannia Row, N1 8QH

P23.02 by - part of the show Degrees of Contact - organised by

Open from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 24 June
11 am to 6pm
35a Britannia Row, N1 8QH

Geography of Desire by - part of the show Degrees of Contact - organised by

Open from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 24 June
11 am to 6pm
35a Britannia Row, N1 8QH

Alternative History are a unique quartet employing British Rock and Art Song to illuminate the music of the Renaissance, combining the collective sensibilities of singer John Potter, violinist-singer Anna Maria Friman and lutenists Jacob Herringman and Ariel Abramovich.

Their ground-breaking work is inspired by the practice of Renaissance musicians rearranging the acappella polyphony of their predecessors and contemporaries for voices and lutes, envisioning a parallel universe where the Early Music movement happened in the 1920s, when songs and choral music by Warlock and Moeran are re-imagined as the lute songs these composers never actually wrote but might have heard in their heads. What results is a journey into the imagination; a sound picture of an alternative history.

The programme ‘Amores pasados’ takes its name from the title piece by John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on the ensemble’s eponymous second album - a work setting poetry from the three great ages of Spanish literature. The work is complemented by pieces dedicated specially to the ensemble by two other grandees of British Rock: Sting and Tony Banks (Genesis) - songwriters who more than hold their own with their British Renaissance predecessor also featured here, Thomas Campion. Known also for their celebrated recordings of Spanish Renaissance music, the quartet complete this musical gesture of British-Spanish cultural exchange with intabulations of works by Victoria and Morales, visualising them as they might have been performed in 17th-century England.

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📆 Wednesday 17 June
⏰ 7:30pm
📍St Clement Danes - The Strand
🎟️ https://cultura.cervantes.es/londres/en/cuarteto-de-historia-alternativa%3a-%c2%abamores-pasados%c2%bb/189621

Instituto Cervantes is collaborating with the new edition of the Flamenco Festival London 2026, held from June 13 to 30, marking its 21st edition as one of the leading international platforms for flamenco.

This year’s program brings together some of the most prominent figures in contemporary flamenco, presenting a vibrant and diverse vision of the art form through dance, singing, and guitar. Performances take place in iconic venues such as Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells East, and the Jazz Café, offering audiences a dynamic and immersive experience that blends deep-rooted tradition with innovative contemporary expression.

A major highlight of the 2026 edition is its expansion beyond London for the first time, with part of the program presented in Manchester, further extending its international reach.

Featuring 13 companies and around 20 performances, the festival continues to strengthen its role in showcasing flamenco on a global stage while promoting new creative directions within the genre. By combining world-class artists, iconic stages, and a forward-looking artistic vision, Flamenco Festival London reaffirms its position as a key cultural event that celebrates the evolution and universal appeal of flamenco.



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📆 13 to 30 June
⏰ Various
📍 Different venues
🎟️ https://flamencofestival.org/en/ff-london-2026-2/