100 Women Rotorua - Katie Hoy Photographer

The 100 Women Rotorua project began from my curiosity regarding the disconnect between the Rotorua in the media and the Rotorua I live and raise my children in. I was isolated after having my children and wondered what parts of Rotorua I hadn’t seen, which groups of people I did not have contact with. I used the census statistics, focusing on age, ethnicity and country of birth, and set out to find 100 women who represented the city by percentage.

Each woman in the project represents one percent of Rotorua's diverse community. We are approximately: 54% NZEU/Pakeha, 35% Māori, 9% Asian, 5 % Pacific Islanders, 1% Other. 82% were born in NZ, 7% Asia, 5% UK/IE, 2% Pacific Islands, 2% Australia, 1 % Europe, 1% other. 40% of women in our city are under 30.

The first photograph taken in the series was mine, next I photographed my daughter and I then moved out organically through the community. Some participants were invited because I interact with them daily, some volunteered, some I met through word of mouth. Over the course of the project, I visited roughly 20 suburbs and 7 lakes. The women are from Rotorua, but their stories are universal. The women in this project have an abundance of knowledge, expertise, leadership, love, and experience.

A selection of the portraits are below, their stories can be read @katiehoy.photographer on Instagram and Facebook.