Born in 2006 as an instrument of public diplomacy to bring the Arab world closer to Spain, Casa Árabe has accompanied two intense decades in Spanish-Arab relations.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Casa Árabe, from next Thursday until September 13, this institution presents Tiempo juntos, a photographic exhibition that reviews two decades of relations between Spain and the Arab world and its role in Spanish public diplomacy. Admission will be free until capacity is reached. In Spanish and English.
The twentieth anniversary of Casa Árabe has a deeply symbolic meaning: like someone turning twenty, the institution finds itself at that point where initial youth transforms into conscious maturity, with a defined identity but still open to growth.
Born in 2006 as an instrument of public diplomacy to bring the Arab world closer to Spain, the journey of Casa Árabe has accompanied two intense decades in Spanish-Arab relations: from the strengthening of political and cultural cooperation after its creation, through the regional upheaval of the Arab Springs of 2011 and Spain’s participation in stabilization missions, humanitarian aid, and development cooperation, to recent diplomatic milestones such as Spain’s recognition of the Palestinian state in 2024 and the visit of its president in 2025, as a result of our country’s repeated support for the two-state solution.
From its headquarters in Madrid and Córdoba, Casa Árabe has been not only a witness but also sometimes a protagonist of this web of relations. Through high-level meetings and dialogue spaces with civil society, it has combined rigorous analysis with a wide cultural program, projecting the hospitality and cultural vitality of Andalusia and Madrid. At the same time, it has contributed to renewing both Spain’s image in Arab countries and that of the contemporary Arab world in the Iberian Peninsula and, thanks to Spanish as a vehicle for disseminating knowledge, also on the other side of the Atlantic. It would be difficult to enumerate the wide range of thinkers and current figures who have participated in Casa Árabe’s activities; the exhibition Tiempo juntos offers just a representative sample of what has happened in these two decades.
Throughout this journey -this rihla- numerous friendships have been woven with institutions and individuals, the result of a deep conviction in networks of collaboration and multiple belongings: the Mediterranean, European, and African axes, but also the academic, diplomatic, cultural, and business spheres. In other words, there is a commitment to multidisciplinarity as a guarantee of understanding and as a tool to confront sectarianism and polarization. The educational mission occupies a central place in Casa Árabe, faithful to the legacy of Lucas Aguirre, who founded at the end of the 19th century the schools that give name to the building, not only through intense collaboration with universities and research centers but also through the teaching of the language at the Arabic Language Center.
If we resort to the metaphor of porcelain weddings, these two decades evoke something valuable, built with patience and, at the same time, fragile in the face of the geopolitical tensions that traverse the region: a network of trust, mutual knowledge, and cooperation that shines when cultivated with care. Thus, the twenty years of Casa Árabe not only celebrate the consolidation of an institution but also the maturation of a historical bond between Spain and the Arab countries -made of shared memories, intertwined present and future interests-, as well as the renewed willingness to continue building bridges in an increasingly dialogue-needing world.
