Repairing damaged objects with creativity and empowerment
Do you have something broken and want to repair it? This is a great opportunity. Attend one of our sessions to repair damaged objects: REPAIR CAFÉ BARCELONA
Learn to repair your own appliances and computer equipment while you have a coffee. Professor Andreu León de Cabo Sindín is an expert in repairs.
Prior reservation essential. Free activity. Repair sessions are organized every three months in different locations.
Reservations: openartassociation@gmail.com
Check the agenda and make your reservation
Our headquarters are located in Quito 19, Baró de Viver, Barcelona, 08030
REPAIR CAFÉ BARCELONA is an activity related to the concept of circular economy, which consists of repairing broken objects, such as household appliances, electronic and computer equipment. It is a creative and empowering activity, carried out whilst having a coffee. The goal of this activity is to promote a change in our consumption habits through repairing items, and to empower communities with self-repairing skills, so that the negative impact on the environment can be subdued. This initiative was originally conceived in Amsterdam and has more than 2,093 locations worldwide already. Open Art is the first association in Barcelona to have obtained the license from Repair Café.org, Amsterdam, to open a Repair Café in Barcelona.
INTRODUCTION
The activity consists of free repair workshops for household appliances and computer equipment. This activity is aligned with the principle of circular economy at Open Art Association. It was originally part of a larger project called OBJECT BANK, which consisted of exchanging objects, repairing damaged ones and transforming waste into Object Art. Repair Café Barcelona started in 2019 and to date has held 23 sessions, has welcomed 380 attendees (virtually and face-to-face) and has repaired a total of 133 objects. REPAIR CAFÉ BARCELONA is a worldwide-known member of the Repair initiatives. It is a member of Repair Café.org (Netherlands) and the Restarters (UK). The Repair Café workshops are directed by Carolina Rivas, coordinated by Daoud Sarhandi and conducted by Andreu León de Cabo Sindín. Given the contributions of REPAIR CAFÉ in the sphere of environmental activism in 2019, Repair Café and the Object Bank project received the recognition of the MIT AWARD (Make a Impact on Tomorrow, awarded by the Henkel Foundation).
Currently the workshops are held quarterly in a wide range of cultural venues and we collaborate with the Aula Ambiental (Spanish for Environmental Classroom) .
Website: https://openartassociation.com/banco-de-objetos/banco-de-objetos-2/
The headquarters are located at Quito 19, Baró de Viver, Barcelona, 08030.
SUMMARY
REPAIR CAFÉ BARCELONA is an initiative of OPEN ART association. It was conceived in 2019 as a circular economy activity that was part of a larger project, called OBJECT BANK, which consisted of a library of objects to share, to repair damaged ones (Repair Café) and to transform waste items into art (Art Object Trend). This project was subsidised by Barcelona Activa 2018-2019. Nonetheless, when the subsidy came to an end the community insisted that the activity continued, and so Repair Café continued to be carried out in many venues in Barcelona. Repair Café was founded by Carolina Rivas and Daoud Sarhandi and is conducted by Andreu León de Cabo Sindín, who is the official repairperson of this initiative. Currently Repair Café is carried out in collaboration with the Aula Ambiental of Barcelona and with the support of Nau Vila de Besòs, Coworking Sinergics Baró de Viver and Endeos, amongst other entities. To date (March 2022) we have conducted 23 repair sessions, we have had 380 virtual and face-to-face participants and 7 repair volunteers (5 men and 2 women) have collaborated. Repair Café has also been made possible online and remotely by sharing photographs, videos and voice audios. In total, 133 objects have been repaired, which has reduced the CO2 impact by 0.002%, and 4 repaired computers have been sent to The Gambia, Africa.
Awards granted to Repair Café and the Object Bank: in 2019, we received the MIT (Make a Impact on Tomorrow) Award, granted by the Henkel Foundation.
Repair Café Barcelona is also an official member of Restarters UK. It has also welcomed the collaboration of 36 circular and social economy entities, which include: Barcelona Activa, Coworking Sinergics Baró de Viver, Aula Ambiental, Nau Vila de Besos, Fundación Servei Solidari and Restarters of Barcelona. More recently, Repair Café has also collaborated with Tabakalera in Donostia, San Sebastián, as well as to the worldwide study on appliances repairing, carried out by Imperial College London.
This activity is conducted by: Andreu León De Cabo Sindín. Directed by: Carolina Rivas. Coordinated internationally by: Daoud Sarhandi
The Repair Café sessions are scheduled quarterly in various locations.
To date (March 2022) we have managed to:
Repair 133 objects
Hold 23 sessions
Welcomed 380 participants
Interview on Radio COPE (“La Noche) with Carolina Rivas about REPAIR CAFÉ: 3 May, 2022
Translated by: Ana B. Vela and Daoud Sarhandi