“Hanken” entrance hall in 2011; photo HHW.

Almost fifty years later – the Business School entrance hall in 2011.
People have their ways, living their lives… doing their best. Still, far from perfect.
Hey Woldemar – how do we fit into the image?

“Hanken” entrance hall in 1963, framed original photograph in corridor; photo HHW.

A black-and-white photograph, showing the entrance hall of the brand new Business School in 1963. So, this is how it was meant to be: clean, straight-lined and flooded with light; a space framed and barred where submissive nature thrives in its allotted place and humans are the subjects of Enlightenment.

Åbo Akademi University Business School, light and spaces; all photos by HHW.

The Business School building: a functionalistic work by Åbo Akademi architect Woldemar Baeckman. Built in 1963, it emphatically expresses a positivistic vision, carried by the craftsman’s knowledge of materials as well as the relative scarcity of the time. An appropriate setting for anyone who would wish to make a comment, philosophically or by means of art, to the contemporary state of things; the mind-set of Enlightenment taken to, and beyond, its utmost consequences.
Here the LICHTWECHSEL exhibition will take place, opening on March 17, 2011.

Åbo Akademi University Business School, entrance from above; photo by HHW.

Åbo Akademi University Business School, one January morning;
photo HHW.

And here’s the next project: in March, the Nomadic University will stage an art event at Åbo Akademi University Business School.
Austrian artists Luise Kloos, Erika Lojen, Aurelia Meinhart and Ingeborg Pock will bring their art journey – from Graz via Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki to Åbo/Turku – into the modernistic white building known as Hanken in Åbo/Turku.