Exhibition: Brown & Beautiful | Sisters United

Exhibition opening: 6pm 23 September 2022
Exhibition Dates: 24 September - 19 November 2022

Brown & Beautiful celebrates the natural beauty of our Pasifika young women, their different shades of brown skin and varied shapes and sizes. This exhibition showcases the power and charm that lies within every young woman.

In a world of unrealistic body standards shown on social media and widespread struggles with body image, this collection of images empowers women to learn to love what they see in the mirror and to embrace their unique features. These portraits are taken of the mentors who participated in the Sisters United Young Queens programme – a yearlong mentoring programme run in Auckland High Schools for Year 12 & 13 Pasifika students. They deliver educational and creative workshops such as spoken word, dance, crafts, and life skills.

This initiative was built for our young women to explore their talents, build resilience, develop their leadership skills, discover their worth, and encourage them to chase their dreams.

These mentors use their voice and leadership skills to give back to other young women, stand up for what they believe in and to show other Pasifika girls they are brown, bold, and beautiful.

Sisters United is a family-based organisation that provides exciting, fresh and creative programmes and services to young women aged 12 - 21 in Auckland and New Zealand wide. They are the Goebel Sisters, Parris, Kendal and Narelle. Combining their skills and experience in social work, creative arts and design, together with their passion and enthusiasm for helping the lives of our young Pasifika and Māori young women, they believe that they can ensure the future looks bright for our young women.