Photos: Sergio Betancort
The José Saramago Room of the César Manrique Foundation (FCM) hosted on Tuesday, April 30 the inauguration of 'César Manrique, word and commitment: Making power uncomfortable'. Likewise, the edition of the artist's manifesto 'Let's save the island of Lanzarote!' was presented, and then the round table 'Canary Islands, from the ground to the (un)sustainable territory' took place.
'César Manrique, word and commitment: Making power uncomfortable' is an exhibition about the activist dimension of the artist, in which his most social and political profile is exhibited, the critical voice of an alarmed conscience in defense of the territory of Lanzarote and the Islands, through his statements and claims raised in the media, without filters or critical intermediations.
Regarding the manifesto 'Save the island of Lanzarote!', it was written and disseminated by César Manrique in 1986 and includes "a cry for help for the island where he was born and a call to collective sensitivity to protect the island from ambition", according to the FCM.
Limit growth as César Manrique proposed
In the round table entitled 'Canary Islands, from the ground to the (un)sustainable territory' Faustino García Márquez, Emma Pérez Chacón, Antonio Pérez and Eugenio Reyes participated, and it was moderated by the journalist Saúl García. They debated "about the need to limit growth - which César Manrique already raised in his 1986 manifesto - in contrast to the Land Law and the Green Islands Law, approved by the Government of the Canary Islands, which are based on the use of the territory as an economic resource".
They also addressed the environmental costs, especially in rural land, that these laws cause; the ecological footprint of the economic activity of the Canary Islands (and in particular of Lanzarote); the damage that occurs to the climate from these islands; and the distribution of the benefits of tourism growth was questioned.
