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At Matadero, Red Bull Adds Money (and Energy) to Culture - NYTimes.com

Thu, 10/17/2013 - 11:09 -- rprice

Now Matadero is evolving into a cultural laboratory, where a new arts financing strategy is being tested. Companies and institutions are providing financial support to supplement dwindling government arts subsidies, but with a twist: they don’t just send checks, they move in. Within the walled 59,000-square-foot center, there are public theaters and exhibition spaces that last year drew more than 500,000 visitors for music and art events and avant-garde plays. But five new residents are private institutions, including a designers’ association, a publishing house’s foundation and offices of Red Bull, the Austrian energy drink maker. They are in the compound rent-free for now, but have invested millions in the remodeling of pavilions there, as well as in programming, from art exhibitions to music festivals.