Presented this Thursday morning, the Lanzarote Visual Music Festival (FMVL) celebrates its twentieth edition this year, which will take place from October 8 to 18 in emblematic venues such as Jameos del Agua, the Cueva de los Verdes, and the CIC El Almacén. Organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote, with the collaboration of the Government of the Canary Islands, the festival returns with an international lineup and proposals that combine contemporary music, visual arts, and the volcanic landscape of the island.
In the words of Jesús Machín Tavío, Minister of Culture of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, "with this twentieth edition, Lanzarote is once again at the international forefront of contemporary creation. The Visual Music Festival demonstrates that our island is capable of offering unique experiences that combine music, visual arts and volcanic landscape, consolidating itself as a first-rate cultural reference."
For her part, Migdalia Machín, Minister of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, pointed out that "it is the first time that this synergy has been established between the Visual Music Festival, one of the most consolidated in the Archipelago, and the Contemporary Festival, which is now in its fifth edition, giving rise to a high-level cultural proposal. From the Government of the Canary Islands, we understand that collaboration between institutions and festivals is the best way to strengthen the cultural ecosystem, bring them closer to new audiences and continue to project the creativity of the islands abroad."
Likewise, the artistic director of the Lanzarote Visual Music Festival, Ildefonso Aguilar, highlighted that "this year's program maintains the spirit that has characterized the festival since its origins: to offer innovative proposals that dialogue with the landscape and with the sensitivity of the public. Artists from different backgrounds will bring projects to Lanzarote that seek to expand the limits of music and the aesthetic experience."
Collaboration with the Contemporary Festival
This edition includes the sound installation TIBATAJE, Aural Affections of the Canary Islands by Pablo Sanz, an immersive project that explores the sound ecologies of the Canary archipelago. It can be visited in the Cube room of El Almacén with free admission. The work offers an experience based on field recordings made on several islands of the archipelago, including the Tajogaite area, and proposes an expanded, sensory, and transformative listening of the Canarian soundscapes.
This proposal has been the basis of the collaboration agreement signed between the Visual Music Festival and the Contemporary Festival organized by the Government of the Canary Islands. The agreement is a first step towards establishing new avenues of cooperation in the future.
### International Poster
The musical program for this twentieth edition features prominent names from the contemporary international scene. Among them is the Norwegian saxophonist Mette Henriette, who will open the festival on October 9th at the Jameos del Agua Auditorium with an intimate and experimental proposal; the pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, a pioneer of nu jazz and electronic fusion, who will also perform at the Jameos del Agua Auditorium, will participate alongside the legendary bassist Arild Andersen and percussionist Sanskriti Shrestha; and the unclassifiable British artist Keeley Forsyth, who will bring her vocal and theatrical intensity to Jameos del Agua.
Also performing will be Shida Shahabi, a Swedish composer of Iranian origin whose minimalist piano pieces have placed her among the great names of contemporary music; the trio Alizulh, formed by Héctor Matacherry and Santi Pérez, which combines sound creation and visual art from an insular perspective; and Lajalada, the alter ego of the Gran Canaria artist Belén Álvarez Doreste, who explores new electronic and poetic landscapes.
### Complementary activities and tickets
In addition to the concerts and the aforementioned Tibataje installation, FMVL 2025 includes the screening in the Buñuel Hall of the CIC El Almacén of the film "Last and First Men," directed by the musician Jóhann Jóhannsson, with narration by Tilda Swinton. This visual and sound work of cult status dialogues with the landscapes and the conceptual spirit of the festival.
Tickets for all the concerts and activities of the FMVL 2025 are now available, along with all the detailed information of the events, on the official website of the festival: www.festivaldemusicavisualdelanzarote.com.
The Lanzarote Visual Music Festival is organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote and has the collaboration of the Contemporary Festival of the International Music Festival of the Canary Islands, the Government of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote Tourism and the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers of Lanzarote.