Stockholm Pride Dog Tag 2009

On June 16th, Stockholm Pride unveiled the 2009 Dogtag at an event at the Stockholm Stadsteater. The pendant is a metal plate with rainbow colored Braille that spells the word [HETERO].

– The concept behind the Stockholm Pride 2009 Dog Tag comes from a deep consideration of the political climate of these lasts months, and the discussions about gay rights and marriage. Braille code was the perfect metaphor of the blindness of some religious and political institutions, constantly trying to define what is normal and what is not., says the designer Alessandro Falca.

Alessandro Falca (photo, right) was born in Florence, Italy, and currently lives in the Swedish town of Kiruna where he works as a freelance designer. The purpose of the Stockholm Pride Dogtag is to raise thoughts about norms, normativity and about what is normal.

– We have chosen a designer who could represent this year's theme in an exciting and interesting manner. The pendant symbolises several broken norms, says Claes Nyberg, the chairman of Stockholm Pride.

Each year a unique accessory is made that accompanies the Stockholm Pride festival ticket. The Dogtag is chosen through a design contest. The 2009 theme [Hetero] focuses on how the hetero norm affects the every day life of HBT persons, what consequences the norm brings and how it affects society in general.

See the Dog Tag in high resolution