F'Art! The festival of educational communities
On May 15, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the second edition of F’Art!, the festival of educational communities, will take place—a celebration born from the imagination and sustained collective work of several educational centers in the Sant Andreu district and Fabra i Coats: Fàbrica de Creació. Last year, in its first edition, the festival brought together around 2,000 attendees of all ages. This year’s edition revolves around the theme of the Nest: as a refuge of boundless imagination, as a space to nurture hospitality, and as a place to practice everyday hope in community, rooted in the territory.
The entire event is part of L’Ordit, Fabra’s program focused on culture, education, and territory. The programming has been co-created by resident artists, children, youth, and teaching staff from the three main participating educational centers. Starting from a core working group made up of La Maquinista School, Vapor Molí School-Institute, the Sant Andreu Pedagogical Resource Center, and Fabra i Coats: Fàbrica de Creació, the initiative has grown to include Martí Pous, La Sagrera, and Doctor Puigvert high schools, as well as the Center for Occupational Initiatives and Can Fabra Library, among others.
Mutual Learning
F’Art! is a unique opportunity for mutual learning, where students are actively involved in the programming, design, and production of the event. The organization of F’Art! has been the central focus of L’Ordit’s work with the educational centers of Sant Andreu during the 2024–2025 school year. Through weekly coordination meetings with the festival’s core group, the various tasks related to design, programming, production, and logistics have been progressively developed. The members of this working group have also ensured that all the discussions and decisions are shared with their wider school communities, while also bringing back ideas and concerns arising at each step of the process.
Thanks to this collaborative effort, a rich and diverse program has been created, including activities co-produced by educational centers and Fabra’s resident artist community: experimentation and creation spaces, concerts, theater and dance performances, and showcases of the artistic work developed so far. In a festival like this, the preparation process is just as important as the day of the celebration itself.
Nest and Refuge
Throughout the school year, children and young people from various Sant Andreu schools have engaged in creative processes centered on this year’s theme, Nest and Refuge, which will be presented on May 15. They have also participated in the production process of the festival, learning key aspects of lighting and sound design to take on leadership roles in producing the shows. In addition, some of the schools’ family associations (AFAs) have joined forces with resident artists from the Fàbrica de Creació to design and create the scenography that will transform the Fabra i Coats lobby into a welcoming Nest for everyone on the day of the festival.
The F’Art! program has been structured to include proposals conceived and led by children in preschool and primary school, as well as secondary school students, and it will close with a final celebration open to the entire neighborhood.
