04 Dec 2017
Photography, storytelling and youth leadership have culminated in an exhibition of work celebrating the community of Henderson in west Auckland.
Inspired by the now iconic online photo-essays Humans of New York, Humans of Hendo saw students aged from 14 to 17 given cameras and tasked with building positive connections within their community.
A series of portraits and interviews allowed the young photographers to express themselves in new ways. It also allowed the students, many of whom have struggled in mainstream schools, to build their courage and self-belief.
Their work was then celebrated by members of the Henderson community, who pored over photos and quotes that had been collected during the 12-month project.
“Henderson has often been the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons … a town that people see as broken, and often violent, not one that people celebrate for its resourcefulness, rich diversity and creative and courageous youth.”
– Amber Walls, Toi Ora Trust
While students finished the project by publishing books that recorded their endeavours, they more importantly left with a new-found confidence and a supportive community network, which they had helped build.
Artform – Visual Arts
Location – Auckland
Funding – Creative Communities Scheme $5,500
This is one of 10 stories from our Annual Report 2016/17 about the diverse range of arts projects and organisations that Creative New Zealand funded.
For a quick visual overview of how much revenue was received and how it was invested see Our Year in Review: Creative New Zealand
For detailed information see Arts Council of New Zealand (Creative New Zealand) Annual Report 2016/17 (PDF 1.7MB)
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