Håkki™ is an art project that merges with business. Its main focus is the survival of a community identity in a small town of Ljungaverk in northern Sweden that has suffered some negative consequences of an increasingly globalized world. The majority of the people living there emigrated following the closing of the local factory plant in the late 1990s. Håkki™ is an interesting piece of social design that utilizes a traditional business approach, but because of its insisting on preserving a local focus also serves as an original artistic and social reinvention of community identity.

In practise the project consist of two shop outlets in cities in Norway that sell t-shirts with motifs that attempt to express the identity of the small town. The garments are produced and designed in cooperation between the residents of Ljungaverk and the projects initiators Bjørn-Kowalski Hansen and Mats Mourier Stenslet. The motifs on the shirts illustrate features of the particular community and show it to the world. Reversely the profits of the outlets are reinvested into Ljungaverk and have so far bought ping pong tables for the local youth club, uniforms for the local girl football team, helped finance the local sauna and made sure that the town’s residents receive free hair cuts every year.

An interesting feature of the project is its use of identity as an instrument to create change. The initiative consistently keeps identity at the centre of the stage, and thus appears as a discussion of local identity versus globalism. In this way the social, as well as the practical and economic, issues are elegantly addressed. Håkki™ aims to raise a new sense of self-esteem and a strengthened belief in the future of the town for its residents. And the project has indeed succeeded in facilitating a new development that strengthens both the internal identity of the small community and its place in the awareness of the surrounding world.

More on the Håkki project :

SV1 RAPPORT 21.07.10

Ljungaverk Twin Peaks Intro

Håkki documentary NRK, Safari

Håkki Documentary, Danish TV DK2

Håkki Advertisment Teaser

Håkki’ transforms Gallery Yujiro into different pseudo-entities, an estate agent, a T-Shirt boutique, a cinema and a Swedish Drawing Prize, where contestants can win a hunting trip for two.

“…Part of the exhibition sees Gallery Yujiro in London transformed into a temporary estate agent, presenting three properties from the Swedish town of Ljungaverk for private sale. All properties financially amount much less than their intrinsic and aesthetic value. They are beautiful pieces of land in the heart of green and wild Sweden with facilities such as Internet included. Available is a motel in need of some repair alongside two charming and authentic family homes. Property details are available through the gallery. A t-shirt boutique of HÅKKI™ silk-screened printed t-shirts designed by the artist is also on display.

As part of the exhibition, Kowalski-Hansen is also presenting a film based on the opening sequence of the 1990’s US cult series, Twin Peaks. The piece was filmed in Ljungaverk, with a modified soundtrack performed by the some of the local members of the Ljungaverk based rock-a-billy-band Willy & The Hitchhikers. To spice up the atypical show, the artist also proposes a prize. During the exhibition visitors can enter to win a hunting trip in Ljungaverk!

Håkki from Kowalski on Vimeo.