The César Manrique Foundation (FCM) was inaugurated on March 27th 1992 in the presence of its founder, César Manrique, and the then Minister of Culture, Jordi Solé Tura. On April 1st of the same year, its offices, located in the former living of the artist, in Taro de Tahíche, Lanzarote, where opened to the public.

The FCM is constituted as a pri- vate cultural organisation which carries out its activities in three complementary work areas: plastic arts, the environment and cultural reflection. The programmes and various initiatives take shape at the point of convergence determined by the three thematic courses of action, approached with a critical, alternative spirit.

The premises on which the headquarters the César Manrique Foundation are now situated consist of the artist’s house, the former servants’ quarters and the garages. The entire area just described was renovated by César

Manrique for the purpose of adapting it to its new function as a museum and admin- istrative and services infra- structure. As the visitor comes through the entrance gate, the first premises he finds to his left are the foundation’s offices. In former times, this was where the artist’s staff used to live.

The house is built on an 30,000 m² estate, spreading over an outflow of volcanic lava from the eruptions occurring on the island in the period from 1730 to 1736. César Manrique chose this site on his return from New York, when he decided to settle in Lanzarote for good. In 1968, he began to build this, his own domestic architectural work. The building, erected on five very large, natural, volcanic bubbles, has an inhabitable surface area of 1,800 m², distributed at two levels.