The Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, founded in 1926 by a small group of artists, has launched a centenary exhibition titled "La lechuza de Minerva" (The Owl of Minerva). Curated by Isabella Lenzi, the project revisits the institution's most disruptive exhibition, "El sueño imperativo" (1991), curated by Mar Villaespesa, which invited twelve artists to intervene in both exhibition spaces and transit areas, challenging traditional display logic. The new exhibition features works by artists including Dagoberto Rodríguez, Elo Vega, Rogelio López Cuenca, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, Itziar Okariz, Los Carpinteros, María Salgado, Pedro G. Romero, Regina Silveira, Silbatriz Pons, and Tino Sehgal, who activate hidden and unexpected corners of the building through visual and sound actions. The project also restores Nancy Spero's 1991 intervention "Minerva, Sky Goddess," which had largely disappeared, through archaeological research led by restorer Rocío Casasus.
This exhibition matters because it not only celebrates the centenary of a major cultural institution but also reexamines the radical potential of institutional critique—a key theme in contemporary art. By recovering a lost work and reactivating the spirit of a pivotal 1991 show that coincided with the Gulf War and addressed power, gender, and identity, the project questions how art can destabilize institutional structures today. It also highlights the importance of art conservation and historical memory, as the restoration of Spero's piece reveals previously unknown details about the building's hidden art history.