TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes

TEA is located in the rehabilitated historic centre of the city of Santa Cruz, on the right bank of the Santos ravine, between the Nuestra Señora de Africa market and the Immaculate Conception church and adjacent to the Museum of Nature and Man.

The concrete structure is pierced by thousands of tiny glass squares which combine to create beautiful forms that also function as small windows through which visitors can peek inside this creative space, which has paid homage over the years to great artists such as Dalí, Picasso, Penrose, Patti Smith, Tàpies among many others. TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes relies on a core collection of works by artist Óscar Domínguez from Tenerife (considered to be the Spain’s third most prominent surrealist artist, along with Miró and Dalí), but regularly exhibits works by both emerging and established local artists.

The different worlds and realities of Óscar Domínguez, inventor of the technique known as decalcomania, are presented here through his works which are laid out in such a way as to allow visitors to explore the artist’s different creative periods and to understand his contribution to surrealist painting. His work is also often presented alongside works by other artists.

Of particular note at TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes is the space that has been created for children and families. MiniTEA is a free space where young children can develop their creativity through art projects. It is testament to TEA’s pioneering commitment to prioritising and raising awareness about its education program whilst at the same time putting it into practice, by providing a space for meeting, creativity and debate. It is open not only to families, but also to teachers, trainers, educators and other interested parties, where they can contribute to the creation of a more open and inclusive society. In addition to its exhibition spaces, TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes also holds a vast library open 24 hours a day, every day of the year (web), a cafe and restaurant, a shop containing unique and original items, an art library and a cinema showing original language films that tend not to be shown in commercial cinemas, including Canarian cinema (short films, feature length films and documentaries). Inside this huge multi-purpose structure there are also spaces for meetings, courses, dance and even music, making TEA a true cultural reference point in the Canary Islands.