Abstract
The financial crisis of the late 2000s triggered an exodus of artists and cultural entrepreneurs to the urban peripheries of major cities. In Madrid, the abandonment of industrial buildings and the undergrounding of the M-30 motorway transformed the historically neglected working-class neighborhoods of Arganzuela, Carabanchel, and Usera into emerging spaces for artistic creation and exhibition, operating independently of public institutions. This study analyzes the alternative cultural dynamics that have developed in these districts over the past decade, with a particular focus on Museo La Neomudéjar in Carabanchel and Usera, within the conceptual framework of Neo-Iberianism. The methodology combines ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation with interviews of artists and cultural promoters that are subjected to thematic content analysis through open coding. Secondary academic and press sources are also consulted. The findings reveal an intense amount of transnational activity. La Neomudéjar articulates networks of residencies and transatlantic exchanges, Carabanchel consolidates a Spanish-speaking artistic community through integration projects targeting the Latin American population, and Usera extends this model by incorporating the Asian community. This configuration results in a plural and inclusive cultural ecosystem.