The Governing Council has agreed to award the 2021 Gold Medal of the Canary Islands to the César Manrique Foundation, which will be recognised this year along with the Canary Islands Health Service, the Canary Islands Red Cross, the Health Emergency Management Committee, Naviera Armas, the Gran Canaria sportswoman Carla Suárez, the Association of Olive Oil Producers of Fuerteventura (Olivafuer), the Sagaseta family (in particular the lawyers Fernando and Joaquín, for their work for labour rights), the Romancero Gomero and the television series Hierro.
Although the awards were approved last Thursday, their names have now been announced, after the president, Ángel Víctor Torres, informed each of the interested parties by telephone of the awarding of the Gold Medal. The presentation will take place on 30 May in Tenerife, at the institutional event for Canary Islands Day.
This award was created by a decree in 1986 and is granted to people, corporations and institutions that, inside or outside the Canary Islands, have become deserving of this recognition from the people of the Canary Islands. The initiative is approved by the Governing Council on the proposal of the President of the Canary Islands, by his own decision or on the initiative of the Parliament of the Canary Islands.
Regarding the César Manrique Foundation, the Canary Islands Government recalls that it was founded by the artist from Lanzarote himself in 1983, although it began its activities in 1992. "It is based in the former home of the unforgettable artist, in Taro de Tahíche, island of Lanzarote, and its objectives, set out in its statutes, are to conserve, study and disseminate the work and artistic legacy of César Manrique; to promote exhibitions, studies and initiatives that address the relationship between art and nature; to develop activities that favour both the conservation of the natural environment and its sustainable transformation and the planning of the territory, particularly in Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, and to promote intellectual activity, creativity and critical thinking", they explain when arguing this award.
"César Manrique was a pioneer in sustainability and respect for the natural ecosystems of the Archipelago. He has been an example for all, whose teachings his Foundation helps to preserve and disseminate. A universal artist, following in his wake, the people of the Canary Islands continue to advance on a path that is also a commitment: to stop climate change, protect our environment and grow more fairly in social terms, more solidarily in economic terms and more sustainably in the territory", they add from the regional government.