Humans of Ōpuke - a Mount Hutt College Project
Have you heard about the Humans of New York (HONY) project? It is a popular
photography and social media project created by photographer Brandon Stanton in 2010.
It features portraits of people in New York City (and later, from around the world) paired
with deeply personal snippets from interviews about their lives, struggles, and triumphs.
What began for Stanton as an ambitious "photography project" has evolved into a global
storytelling movement that fosters empathy by giving voice to the "ordinary" individual.
HONY now has over 17 million followers, and the format has sparked a global movement
that has inspired thousands of similar, local projects.
Now Methven and the surrounding areas have their very own Humans project, with the
establishment of Humans of Ōpuke, a Mount Hutt College Project. In the first part of 2026,
Jessie Luscombe, George Frost and Amber Hood established the Humans of Ōpuke
project, with the help of teacher Kirsty Saxon. The long term goal is for MHC students to
take over the entire process as interviewers, writers and photographers as the year
progresses. The purpose of this project is to create connections and celebrate the diversity of our
wider Mid-Canterbury community. We hope you enjoy reading about our community members.
Please see our new story each week in the Snowfed.