Lanzarote has seen immense changes in the last 50 years and the new exhibition at the Casa Amarilla reflects many of these events through the lenses of a handful of dedicated local photographers who have worked with the island’s news media.
The exhibition is immediately eye-catching, with bales of old-style newspapers that turn out to be exhibition programmes, and a great roll of newsprint hanging overhead. The exhibition reflects sections of a newspaper, with areas dedicated to sport, politics, art and culture, agriculture, tourism and sucesos (the word Spanish newspapers use for crimes, disasters and other dramatic events).
Hundreds of photos tell the story of how a small island where fishing and farming were the main activities became a tourist hot spot, tripling its population and transforming its health and education services. One photo shows the very first Cabildo meeting in the building you’re standing in, others capture Real Madrid’s cup-tie visit in 2003, the fire at the Gran Hotel, deserted beaches during the pandemic and demonstrations against mass tourism, drugs and conscription.
A slide show captures some of the famous visitors the island has attracted, from Helmut Köhl and Penelope Cruz to Julio Iglesias, Brian Eno and Claudia Schiffer, and the final chamber of the exhibition recreates the desk of a photojournalist, with cameras, rolls of film, a vintage computer, scanner and fax machine and a clipboard of glossy prints.
It’s a fascinating, well organised summary of 50 years in the life of Lanzarote.
PHOTOJOURNALISM: A COLLECTIVE VISION OF LANZAROTE is at the Casa Amarilla on Calle León y Castillo No 6, Arrecife, and is open Mon-Fri from 10-2 and 2.30-6, Saturdays 10 -2. Entrance is free.
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