TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
About Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes is a modern and contemporary art museum defined by its commitment to the present and its capacity to engage in dialogue with and from the here and now. It also fosters an understanding of the recent past, creates memories and projects possible futures by imagining what is yet to come. It is a multi- and transdisciplinary institution that pushes back boundaries and provides room for what refuses to be labelled. TEA is a permeable, inclusive space fully engaged with its immediate environs and takes an active part in the development of critical thinking and the formation of emancipated subjects.
As a museum whose functions include preserving and disseminating heritage, TEA calls received historical narratives into question and refuses to take them for granted. It disrupts the canonical account of the past in order to understand it not only diachronically but also synchronically, opening up space for anachronism. It embraces singularity and exceptionality, with the goal of exposing how disciplines have been constructed and how knowledge systems are shaped. Its approach is both transversal and intersectional, addressing issues related to the construction of social identities such as sex, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, ethnicity and origin. The museum is firmly committed to the inclusion of women artists in both its programming and its collection, as well as to identifying and redressing other less visible forms of exclusion.
TEA couples a global outlook—aspiring to act as a meeting point for cultural spaces and contemporary artistic production from Europe, the Americas and Africa—with a deep commitment to the local. It works from, within and for a specific place. Its mission includes promoting and valuing the artistic and cultural heritage of the island, supporting contemporary creation in Tenerife and contributing to the cultural education of the general public, particularly in contemporary art.
The museum plays an integrative and referential role in the field of contemporary art within the Canary Islands while at once searching for points of connection between its context and that of other territories, with the purpose of strengthening dialogue between artists from Tenerife and the Canaries and those from other geographies. Along these lines, the museum opens up to new audiences and establishes stable networks and partnerships for collaboration, exchange and co-production with other cultural institutions from Spain and worldwide.
The museum’s collection is one of the core pillars around which TEA structures its public and exhibition programmes. Spanning from the opening decades of the twentieth century right up until the present moment, the collection is presented as an open, evolving narrative in constant transformation. From this perspective, the museum promotes rigorous and plural research, offering itself as a platform with the necessary tools to examine the cultural, social and political structures tied to this shared heritage.
TEA aspires to be a space permeable to the needs and demands of both the general public and the wider artistic and cultural community. Its exhibition, educational and outreach programming seeks to generate context and enable access to the broad range of subjects and formats that define modern and contemporary creative languages. Through its public programmes, the museum promotes participatory activities via art and culture, aiming to open up the institution and transform it into a space for encounter and self-education, recognizing art and culture as basic rights of all citizens.
TEA is committed to society, embraces its complexity, supports experimental, innovative and transformative projects, and facilitates learning processes and the formation of future publics. It is a critical space for art education and the training of artists and curators, and contributes to the professionalization of the art and cultural sector.
Apart from its basic museological function, TEA also aspires to be a school, a laboratory and a production centre. The concept of shared heritage and a collaborative, networked methodology are built into the museum’s identity. It defines itself as a welcoming, inclusive, sustainable and transparent institution engaged with its territory.
Connect with the Director, Curatorial, and Collection staff by browsing CIMAM’s Membership Directory in the Members Only section.