Àfora is the agora of Focus, a hub of thought, an area of reflection and activities that, based on the scenic experience, has the intention of influencing the artistic life , cultural and social, in the territory of our influence.

We have 5 areas of action: The Romea Foundation, Àfora Edicions, La 5a Paret, Platea 618 and Spectators

  • MARIA ROSA JORBA DE CENDRÓS AWARD

    Fundació Romea - Monday november 11, 7:00 p.m

    The Maria Canals International Music Competition of Barcelona and the Romea Foundation invite you to the concert offered by the pianist Uladzislau Khandohi, winner of the Maria Rosa Jorba de Cendrós Prize of the 69th edition of the Competition. Concert offered by the Cendrós Family.

    PROGRAM:

    Elisenda Fábregas – Mirage (9 minutes).
    Frederic Chopin – 24 Preludes op.28. (36 minutes)
    Sergei Prokofiev – 4 Etudes op.2. (11 minutes)

    THE MARIA CANALS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF BARCELONA WANTS TO HELP YOUNG PIANISTS TO PROJECT THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD AND, AT THE SAME TIME, TO FACILITATE THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS OF THE PIANO TO THE CITIZENSHIP.

    Maria Canals i Cendrós (1914-2010) was the founder. A visionary woman who, driven by her passion for the piano, her vocation to help and teach young performers, and her appreciation for the city of Barcelona, developed an intense activity, first as a concert pianist, and later as a promoter of such relevant projects as the Ars Nova Music Academy in Barcelona and the prestigious Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona.

    The main purpose of the association of the Maria Canals International Competition of Barcelona is to help promote young performers from all over the world who want to dedicate themselves professionally to the practice of music, and it does so through the Maria Canals Competition (MCB), which has been organized every year since 1954. In each edition, Barcelona becomes for fifteen days the world capital of the piano.

    The Association has also been working for years to break down the social and cultural barriers that have traditionally hindered the majority access to musical practice, especially in the field of classical music and piano, through the organization of the OFF Competition.

    The Association has counted on collaborators who have believed in the Competition and have formed a solid base of support.
    Maria Rosa Jorba de Cendrós was one of the longest-standing collaborators.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    november 11
  • CYCLE 618 TALKS. THE BARCELONA-MADRID RELATIONSHIP AS SEEN FROM A MUNICIPAL POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE.

    Círculo de Bellas Artes - Monday november 11, 7:00 p.m

    This conversation is part of the cycle 618 Talks, a series of meetings inspired by the 618 kilometers that separate Barcelona and Madrid. With this cycle, we want to highlight how the world of culture (artists, creators, thinkers, intellectuals, managers, politicians…) contributes, through their projects, works and activities, to the construction of the city and to generate alliances between cities, thus boosting their collective potential.

    Madrid
    Círculo de Bellas Artes
    november 11
  • TUNING

    Fundació Romea - Monday december 2, 7:00 p.m

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romeav
    december 2
  • CICLO 618 TALKS. LA RELACIÓN BARCELONA-MADRID VISTA DESDE LA ESTRATEGIA DE PROYECCIÓN CULTURAL

    Fundació Romea - Monday december 9, 7:00 p.m

    This conversation is part of the cycle 618 Talks, a series of meetings inspired by the 618 kilometers that separate Barcelona and Madrid. With this cycle, we want to highlight how the world of culture (artists, creators, thinkers, intellectuals, managers, politicians…) contributes, through their projects, works and activities, to the construction of the city and to generate alliances between cities, thus boosting their collective potential.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    december 9

A dialogue between contemporary art and the performing arts.

The Romea Foundation investigates artistic forms to activate terms such as fervor, passion, the sublime, beauty or inspiration that paradoxically cause discomfort. A discomfort that manifests itself when we show ourselves sensitive to the world and reveal our vulnerability. It could be said that our effort seeks to summon ghosts, as Joan Fontcuberta did with the artist Margarida Xirgu, or Eduard Márquez when he tried, in a certain way, to overcome his ghosts to advance his literary work.

Romea Foundation website

The intersection wall between the theater and the street, between the stage and society.

In the theater world, the virtual wall that separates the stage from the spectators is known as the fourth wall, and for a long time the actor-spectator interaction has been called “breaking the fourth wall”.

La 5a Paret is a meeting point that will allow us to capture concepts that emerged from the stage and take them to the field of philosophy, to analyze them from different angles and formats.

In editorial format to channel reflection needs.

An editorial stamp to protect Áfora’s will to permanence its activity, and the conceptual and aesthetic relevance of selected texts and creators.

ÀforaEdicions was born with the publication of three editorial initiatives:

Pre-Occupaciones, under the title “ParaísosPerdidos”, dedicated to identifying our sensitive part in collaboration with different authors such as Emma Riverola, Fernando Prats, Pep Duran, Helena Tornero, Anna Malagrida, Andrés Lima, Arash Arjomandi , Eloi Fernández Porta, Enrique Ruíz Domènec, Sofia Rincón and Pablo Auladell.

Fer Mutis (Mutandis). 35 verbal foci in the performing arts of Màrius Serra. A commission to the writer and journalist Màrius Serra on theatrical slang and aphorisms, which will gloss over theatrical concepts and expressions beyond their etymology, searching for hidden curiosities and origins.

And the adaptation of the theatrical text “Paradizo Perdido” by Helena Tornero, based on the epic poem by John Milton and illustrated by the artist Paula Bonet.

Aerial view of Gran Via shopping area in Madrid, Spain.

A connection between professionals from the theater sector in Barcelona and Madrid.

618 are the kilometers that exist between Barcelona and Madrid, the two theatrical centers of the State. We want to take advantage of this ascendancy to favor a close relationship between professionals from both cities, creating a permanent circuit and personal relationship channels, which allow increasing synergies aimed at increasing co-participation and creative and artistic exchange.

PLATEA 618 will feature meetings between artists and creators, and between managers and producers, to discuss atavistic concerns and new challenges.

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THEATER SPECTATORS

Biennial in nature, the International Congress of Theater Spectators is not just another congress about audiences.

It is the only international meeting of, by and for theater spectators. The public is art and part.

It is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the needs, concerns, and beliefs of performing arts spectators. The Congress aims to call on spectators to regain their role in the value chain of the performing arts and rethink their future role.

In the 1st edition, held in October 2022 at the Romea Theater in Barcelona, we have more than 650 registered, more than 50 invited international spectators, from 25 countries and 5 continents.

We are already preparing the organization of the 2nd edition, which will take place from November 18 to 20, 2024

Website of the International Congress of Theater Spectators

GRANSTEATRERUS

Social project of the Grup Focus that aims to contribute to combating involuntary loneliness among the elderly and promote active aging through theater and culture.

We want to recover as spectators our “Grans Teatrerus” who, for various reasons, have ceased to be theater audiences, through intergenerational links with young, with whom to share their passion and knowledge for the performing arts.

During the 2023-24 season, a pilot test will be developed with residents of the Raval neighborhood in Barcelona, linked to the Teatre Romea and the Theatre Goya.

More info

PUBLIC ADVICE

We have launched Public Advice, made up of active spectators who will participate in the day-to-day life of our theaters, wanting to contribute ideas, visions and opinions, as ambassadors and collaborate in the dynamics of the performing spaces.

It is the transfer to our theaters of the main objective of the Congress of Spectators: giving a voice to the public and getting to know their desires closely.

The 2023-24 season has started its activity:

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