San Bartolomé, Lanzarote

César Manrique Foundation

The César Manrique Foundation is located in the artist’s studio house in Taro de Tahíche (Lanzarote). It is perhaps the work that best represents Manrique’s personal and artistic ideals.

Built in 1968 on a lava flow from the eruption that occurred on the island in 1730-36, it takes advantage of the natural formation of five volcanic bubbles on the lower level to configure a surprising and exemplary living space in terms of the way it acts on natural space. The exterior of the house and upper level is inspired by the traditional architecture of Lanzarote.

The César Manrique Foundation, created in 1992, is a private, non-profit institution. Its scope is international. It currently receives more than 300,000 visitors a year.

It is constituted as a cultural platform based on the attention paid to three crossed lines of development: the plastic arts, the environment and cultural reflection. The programmes and the different initiatives developed, are included in this meeting area, approached with a vocation for transversality and a critical and alternative spirit. These are its three lines of work:

• Conservation, study and dissemination of the work of César Manrique.
• Promotion of artistic activity and cultural reflection.
• Development of activities that favour respect for the natural environment and territorial planning.

Forums for reflection and debate are regularly organised. Since 1994, the spaces “The author and his work and Divergent views” have been developed continuously.

The Environment has been consolidated in 1997 as a key area of the Foundation. Among the activities that are already well established, is the reflection forum Frontiers and Directions of Progress. A space for proposals and debate in which the speakers, from multidisciplinary areas, approach new models and conceptions of progress.

For César Manrique, nature was the fundamental reference point for his art and his existence. Until the end of his days he maintained a deep commitment to the defence of the environment and, in particular, of his native island, Lanzarote.