Levi’s® back pocket project: internet auction kick off

LEVI’S® BACK POCKET ART against AIDS
An ‘original’ project

To announce the arrival of the new brand store at the Kammenstraat in Antwerp, Levi’s® felt the need to be omnipresent around the city in the weeks before and after the opening. Why? To make youngsters enjoy art and culture again and to raise awareness for the fight against AIDS, a cause dear to Levi’s®. Teaming up with LUCY, the pop up lounge bar and creative place to be on the ninth floor of the former Alcatel Bell building in the South District of Antwerp (het Zuid), was the natural thing to do.

To attain these goals Levi’s® invited about one hundred international and Belgian artists to customize the legendary Levi’s® back pocket to their own taste. The result surpassed the wildest expectations. Among the participating artists were musicians such as electro-pop band Vive la Fête, triphop-pop pioneers Hooverphonic, pop revelation Fixkes, singer-songwriter Milow, painter Bruno Vekemans, calligrapher Brody Neuenschwander (calligraphy for Peter Greenaway’s “The Pillow Book”), (almost) smartest man in the world David Davidse aka Madame Germaine de Coeur Brisé, angry young poet Andy Fierens, several graffiti artists and skaters, and, Belgium’s own Liberace, ... Eddy Wally. And more and more everyday people picked up a ‘virgin’ back pocket to give a loose to their creativity. Both at the Levi’s® brand store and at LUCY a real Levi’s® wall of back pockets arose, an exhibition of Levi’s® back pockets turned into little works of art. This rotating exhibition of back pockets was subject to continuous change: new pockets came into play, as others disappeared or travelled to the other location. Initially a local project for Antwerp, the back pockets caused such a buzz in the media and among the public that the conquest of the Netherlands was to follow …

Although the project has been extended several times due to its immense success, it now comes to an end: all Levi’s® back pockets are gathering on June 19th 2008, for the last time. Some of them accompanied by their spiritual parents. Before they are brought under the hammer, enjoy a last glimpse of these little works of art. Then surf to the internet auction on
www.levisbackpocketauction.com and place a bid on your favourite(s). May the pocket be with you! The auction runs from June 20th to September 30th 2008. The entire proceeds will be donated to the ‘Projet SIDA’ by the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine.

THE LEVI STRAUSS FOUNDATION

Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS
In 1985 the Levi Strauss Foundation became the first U.S. corporate foundation to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and has since contributed more than $37 million to HIV/AIDS services organizations in more than 40 countries. The foundation and company-supported programs seek to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and youth, specifically in communities with extreme need, scarce resources and where LS&CO. has a business presence. The Levi Strauss Foundation funds programs that:

Challenge the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS; Support disproportionately affected and underserved communities, e.g. by research activities that contribute to the development of strategies for HIV control; and Increase the availability of and access to clean syringes to prevent the spread of HIV through needle sharing.

THE INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL MEDICINE

AIDS research by the ITM

The Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) has a solid reputation in the fields of control, treatment and research of HIV/AIDS, both in Belgium and internationally. In the 1980’s, the ‘Projet SIDA’ was a pioneer in the discovery and analysis of the epidemic in Africa. The main objective of the AIDS research is the acquisition of knowledge to improve the treatment of and the fight against HIV. Research for possible vaccines, new AIDS inhibitors, new combinations of anti-retroviral products and microbicides are carried out. The ITM is a national and international reference centre for the diagnosis, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS. Because of its many years of experience, the ITM is involved in HIV and AIDS policy world-wide. The ITM also helps with the capacity strengthening in the South, in countries such as Congo, Senegal, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Cambodia, Mozambique, Peru and Kenya, provides treatment to about 1,500 HIV patients every year, cooperates on strategies to prevent HIV and organizes education on HIV/AIDS for domestic and foreign doctors and nurses.