Focus announces its expansion plans: the Genesis school and theatre in Poblenou

BarcelonaAs if it were a major opening night in Catalan theater, some of the biggest names in the scene gathered this Monday evening in a warehouse in Poblenou, at the headquarters of Grup Focus. Seated in a temporary auditorium were renowned directors, playwrights, and actors—such as Lluís Homar, Josep Maria Pou, Jordi Bosch, Guillem Clua, Marta Buchaca, José María Mestres, Joel Juan, Àlex Casanovas, and Pol López—representatives from the business world—the president of PIMEC, Antonio Cañete; the vice president of Fomento, Mar Alarcón; as well as theater managers like Maria José Balañá, Salvador Sunyer, and Toni Albaladejo—and their main institutional representatives—the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni; the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández; and the president, Salvador Illa, who sent his apologies. The event served to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Grup Focus, the country's leading performing arts company and one of the most important in Spain, but also to unveil its next business move. Focus's expansion involves the opening, in September 2028, of an integrated center for theatrical production and exhibition, which will accommodate up to 600 students at the higher school of performing arts (artists, technicians, and managers) and up to 500 spectators at the new Genesis Theatre.

"Today is one of the most important days in Focus's history. After 20 months of construction, we will transform a 3,000 m² space² for industrial use in a 6,000 m² facility for the city²"Announced César Martínez, the company's general director of art and content and son of two of the founders. He was born just as his parents' independent theater company was transforming into "a modern business organization at the service of artistic vocation," as the president, Daniel Martínez, recalled, which was Focus's initial motto.

The new theater, named after the independent company, will occupy what is currently a warehouse. The investment for the complete renovation of Focus's headquarters will be 11 million euros. The project, a model of which was unveiled this Monday, is the work of Picharchitects. Genesis (which is spelled with a period on the first letter) and (instead of an accent mark) will thus break the industrial grid typical of Poblenou's streets and join the unique facilities of the 22@ district: next door are the Disseny Hub, the new Plaça de les Glòries, the National Theatre, UPF, and Can Framis. The theatre will be dedicated to contemporary creation and will have two "central pillars: avant-garde and risk," explained César Martínez, who announced new formats and innovative languages. The general director, Isabel Vidal, also announced that the expansion will involve confronting the technological and values revolution that will also affect the art world.

"Forty years ago, culture was the spearhead of democratic demands," recalled the president of the institution, "but the pairing of business and culture were antonyms, and prejudices were belligerent." Focus today comprises 18 companies, 400 employees, five theaters, and has produced 400 theatrical productions, 3 series, 35 audiovisual programs, and 2 films, reaching 6 million spectators and participating "in all the major historical events of the city," the co-founder recounted. Furthermore, the company, headquartered in Barcelona with a second office and a theater in Madrid, has remained independent of outside capital (its 52 shareholders are employees) and has maintained "social responsibility," said Martínez, who celebrated "the group's strength and the generational transition."