The Council of Tenerife unanimously agreed yesterday to buy the works of the mythical Sala Conca de La Laguna corresponding to the period from the 70s of the last century to 2015. The objective is to exhibit them in the emblematic venue after relaunching the previous agreement to acquire the property, located at number 21 of the square of La Concepción. It was also approved to start the file of Honors and Distinctions for the award of the Gold Medal of the Island to the founder of the artistic space, Gonzalo Díaz, “for the important work and contribution to the artists of Canary Islands and Tenerife, as well as the world of culture». In addition, the plenary agreement insists on maintaining the initiative to launch “a center for future artistic residences” there.
María José Belda, non-attached councilor and proponent of the motion, thanked the rest of the political groups for their support and partly glossed over the figure of Gonzalo Díaz, the Conco, whose health has been quite delicate for a few years. Belda also requested in the original proposal the Gold Medal for the Chamber, but this possibility is not contemplated in the Regulations of the Cabildo de Tenerife.
The justifying basis
In the justification of the motion, María José Belda took as a basis part of what was stated in the book The languages of the Conca Room, Art to touch the soul”, published in 2011 whose author, Elena Morales, is a doctor and has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of La Laguna (ULL). The non-attached counselor details that “we have the author’s permission and support for the use of this text.
four agreements
Among the four definitive agreements, in addition to the Gold Medal for Díaz, it appears reflected “continue with the procedures and the file for the purchase of the building.” Also “continue with the agreements already established with the City Council of La Laguna and the Government of the Canary Islands, which has a budget for a rehabilitation project and start-up of a center for artistic residences (workplaces different from the creator’s usual ones)». The proposal proposes “to complete the collection of TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes with the representative work of Conca between the years 70 and 2015 to make exhibitions in the space itself.”
Documentary background
It should be remembered that TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, a contemporary art hall dependent on the Cabildo de Tenerife, already announced in January 2022 the purchase of the documentary and bibliographic collection of the historic Sala Conca. This acquisition, which has since become part of Tenerife’s public heritage, includes a whopping 10,000 documents treasured by the owner of the room, the aforementioned Gonzalo Díaz, between 1971 and 2010. A first collective contribution to Tenerife society and canary.
A little history
The Conca art gallery was inaugurated on March 16, 1971 in La Laguna. Its birth meant, on the one hand, the irruption of a new generation of artists who needed to differentiate themselves from the heterogeneous Grupo Nuestro Arte, which had marked the Canarian art until then. On the other hand, this appearance on the art scene in the midst of the Franco regime introduced a new management model for the gallery space that worked halfway between the business idea and the para-institutional environment within the pre-democratic context.
