A wide and interesting range of international art and culture, that’s what we were promised when Tenerife Espacio de las Artes opened in Santa Cruz in November 2008, and they have excelled themselves. Maybe I can alert you to a couple of multi talented visitors who can draw on a wealth of artistic and creative achievements.

Peter Greenaway CBE is best known as the director of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, the 1989 film that earned critical attention and controversy in fairly equal measures. But this Newport (Wales) born and Essex raised artist, is also a well respected painter and has made TV documentaries. On Tuesday March 24, he will be holding court at TEA from 7pm, and will be discussing the many influences that have coloured his rich landscape.

Another artist that has stretched the boundaries is Patti Smith, the hard bitten New Yorker was at the forefront of the American punk and New Wave scene and had a huge international hit in 1978 with Because The Night, a song she co wrote with Bruce Springsteen. Still rocking, Patti has many more strings to her guitar, and will be launching an exhibition called Written Portrait, at TEA from Friday May 22 to Sunday September 6, in her guise as a poet and writer. It will feature a range of her work, including paintings and black and white photos. Patti has never been afraid to air her views and is a passionate speaker for green and political issues, as well as a leading critic of the war in Iraq.

TEA is a star in its own right, a 20,000 square metre visual feast, that is a fitting home for the arts in Avenida San Sebastian, opposite the African Market. Full details of what’s on offer can be found at the website www.teatenerife.es .