Backa Kåken

Grassroots initiative Backa Kåken proposes to transform the former prison building, standing empty since 2015 in the middle of the Malmö neighbourhood Kirseberg into a community-owned cultural and social hub and from a place of separation to one of connection and collaboration. 

This initiative grew out of community conversations during the ‘Malmö Tillsammans’ project, where questions about the future of the icon prison kept coming up. Britt curated a study trip to Hamburg, which exposed the group to successful democratic ownership initiatives, sparking the idea to implement something similar in Malmö. The event ‘Nu köper vi fängelset – Tillsammans!’ (Now we buy the prison - together!) during ‘Malmö in the Making’ Festival in September 2023 set the beginning for the Backa Kåken initiative. In early 2024, Backa Kåken established as an ‘Ideell Förening’ (association) and partnered with the landowner, public housing company  MKB under the agreement that Backa Kåken would offer a viable concept to develop the cellblock of the prison in community ownership.

By now, Backa Kåken has grown to over 100 members and, over the past year, has engaged over 300 people in meetings, lectures, conversations.

The organisation’s core group is made up of local organisations, associations, and committed individuals who are passionate about sustainable development in Kirseberg, Malmö, and Skåne. Their work is rooted in cultural development, grassroots organising and cooperative business development.

Backa Kåken's goal is to develop, own, and operate the cellblock building via cooperative financing models. Everyone who wants to should have the opportunity to be involved in co-creating the prison and its future. Therefore, there is no definitive answer today as to what the prison will become, with the response to the inevitable question usually being ‘A social, cultural, and creative centre that contributes positively to the area. What matters to you?’