"More than 4,000 people" have been able to enjoy the exhibition 'Against Oblivion. Drawings 1972-2023', by the Lanzarote painter and illustrator Santiago Alemán Valls (Lanzarote, 1952) in the three months that it has been open to the public in La Casa Amarilla, the exhibition center dependent on the Cabildo de Lanzarote.
The exhibition, which was exhibited between July 2 and September 30, includes illustrations by the author in a wide variety of formats and techniques that have, as a common thread, vindication and social denunciation. From the progressive
deterioration of natural, cultural and architectural heritage, through issues of human depth such as immigration or loneliness, and including the so-called 'Black Series', which demonstrate the influence of Goya in Alemán's work,
'Against Oblivion. Drawings 1972-2023' allows us to know in detail the personal universe and creativity of Alemán.
Full house on guided tours
Throughout the 90 days that it was exhibited, numerous visits were made by schoolchildren and educational centers, as well as three guided tours for the general public. In all of them, the sold out sign was hung and the places were sold out in just a few hours. It so happens that the artist himself was present at all the visits, personally attending to the spectators. The exhibition is a production of La Casa Amarilla, managed by the Data Center
of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, has been curated by Mario Ferrer and Rubén Acosta and its exhibition and graphic design was carried out by Carmen Corujo.
In these months, a digitization work has also been carried out on an important proportion of Santiago Alemán's work to preserve its conservation. This digitization has been carried out from the department of the Data Center of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.
Part of this digitized work will be included, in turn, in a book about the author that is being prepared by the Publications Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote. The publication will focus on the illustrations with a more human and social denunciation load of the work of the Lanzarote artist, a series of his production that until now has remained unpublished. The book will be titled 'The Forgotten'.
Possible itinerancy through Lanzarote and other islands
In addition, La Casa Amarilla and the curators of the exhibition are working on being able to make itinerancies of “Against Oblivion”, so that the exhibition can be exhibited in other parts of Lanzarote and even the Canary Islands. Specifically, in the first quarter of 2024 it is planned that the exhibition will hang on the walls of the Pancho Lasso Art School of Arrecife, an educational center in which Santiago Alemán was a professor and chair of the specialty of Drawing and Color. Later, it will travel to the municipality of Haría and later, on dates still pending confirmation, it will be exhibited on other islands of the Canary Islands.
The Councilor for Education, Data Center and Publications Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Ascen Toledo, has publicly expressed her satisfaction with the impact achieved by the exhibition and the dissemination work that will be carried out on the author's work. “We are very proud of the great impact that Santiago Alemán's work has aroused among the residents of Lanzarote. It shows that there is interest, on the part of the inhabitants of the island, in the legacy of our most relevant artists and that they are part of our recent history,” Toledo declared.
The councilor added that, in addition, “the Cabildo will continue working on the conservation and dissemination of said legacy. That is why we will work to ensure that the exhibition is known inside and outside of Lanzarote, and that is why we are going to work on the publication of this new book. Both are ways to enrich the cultural heritage of Lanzarote,” concluded Ascen Toledo.
