General Rehearsal

At FAD, we aspire to improve the lives of others through design whilst at the same time not losing sight of contemporary influences in society. It is in this context that we want to undertake projects that identify issues and listen to experts about the most imminent developing projects, therefore, putting design at the service of society and of the city.

Given the great social and environmental challenges we face, using design as a method of reflection and proposing solutions, FAD organises a General Rehearsal every year; this is a big event that challenges the citizens of Barcelona to reflect on the different issues we face as a society.

General Rehearsal ‘16: ‘Food, sustainable emergency and design’
In 2016, within the framework of FADfest, the first General Rehearsal was carried out, dedicated to, on that occasion, food sustainability. The food sustainability of the city was put to the test and their capabilities were evaluated. The organisation who chose the format was a Food Bank for 900 whose menu was prepared with fully edidible foods that were going to be discarded from Mercabarna and from the supermarkets around the area of Glòries main square. The project was carried out in alliance with Making the Most of Foods Platform and also, the involvement of people and entities of adjacent neighbourhoods who had been working in many ways to produce and consume for many years.

General Rehearsal’ 17 – The Touristic Sector
In 2017, the theme of the General Rehearsal was tourism and the city of Barcelona. On this occasion, the strategy was to think about, whilst using design, the management and touristic sector of Barcelona. Data about the touristic sector was shown, illuminating the positive and negative aspects, and a voice was given to all the different parties to help discern the prejudices of the problems, the advantages of the inconveniences of the activity, without forgetting that, after all, we can all be tourists.

The General Rehearsal has always been defined as a programme with such a range of activities: a mobile exposition on a tourist bus that explored the key touristic points of the city that was shared with neighbours and visitors; a tour where alternative non-stereotypical stories about Barcelona were told, by sociologists, architects, historians and designers, and as the last stop of the tour, an audio-visual concert in Plaza Real and the closing illuminated the main theme (tourism) which involved live music with an audio-visual piece.

General Rehearsal’ 18 – The rebellion of objects’
As part of Barcelona Design Week, FAD returns with a new General Rehearsal, this time, going out onto the streets and asking citizens through design to address a topic that concerns us as a society. On this occasion, the chosen subject is the lack of affection and the emotional attachment that people face with things associated with production and current consumption.

In this year’s General Rehearsal, a group of young designers, as well as, all the creative disciplines that make up FAD (fashion, industrial, graphic, artisans, artists and architecture designers) will produce the context (content and continent) of the event and the public exposition will invite us to explore what does the construction of affections in the contemporary consist of.