What is 18-18?
18-18 is an immersive photo exhibition experience, diving into the world of 18, 18 year old girls from all over Auckland. Take a step into the world of young women on the brink of adulthood. Prepare to have your eyes opened, your assumptions challenged and your hearts pulled...
Aashna
" There's a lot of pressure straight out of school to know what you want! In school I knew I had to get good grades, but what now..? Honestly, no one really knows."
Frances
"Nowadays when you're 18 you're just tired. Partying is overrated, it's fun with the right people but now when you're 18 you're always so busy..."
Kalisi
"18 is scary because it's the age when you're expected to know what you're doing. And being an Islander, there's extra pressure to be a certain way."
Support us
Help us tour 18-18 and raise young women's voices across the country.
Louena
"Our family always tell us about my Grandpa coming over from Tonga and the struggle. Knowing I haven't had to go through something like that is my drive to keep going."
Precorqtion
"My cousin and I are creating a business around culturally sustainable ideas and revitalizing our language because we're both proud Maori."
Rebecca
"It's easy to go out and have fun. But if you do that every weekend you'll never get anywhere."
How is it to be 18?
Listen to the voices of 18 and add your own voice to the collection.
Tasnim
"Being black Muslim and female, the three things society hates, I just want to be the familiar face for people like me."
Sophie
"I was going to come out in year 12 but my teacher said, "Don't do it - just wait until your last year. You gotta realize not everyone is like you.." I hadn't really realized how homophobic it was."
Coco
"It's like you have to bungee jump but you don't have your rope all sorted out yet. And someone's pushing you saying, 'Jump!! 18? your childhood's over! Go to Uni!'"
Gloria
"If I could sum up my generation in three words, I'd say we're scared, lost and worried...This is our generation, the worried ones."
Rayna
"I got expelled from high school for doing drugs in the bathroom, I went to another school, then ran away to Tauranga for half a year."
Katie
"It all changes when you hit 18, it's like, "Oh you're an adult now, you have to sort everything out yourself!" People are focusing on that instead of relationships."
Aimee
"I don't want a relationship again because I just feel like at this stage you shouldn't sacrifice that much for a boy."
Allyssa
"I think about Samoa and get a huge pain in my chest. It physically hurts knowing that I'm losing my homeland due to climate change."
Gidienne
"Our generation is not the informed generation. We have so much tech it's made us lazy - we make memes, we don't educate ourselves."
Jemima
"All men should be feminists! Dad's a feminist and my boy mates are! Feminism benefits men too (not that this should be a selling point.)"
Ranisha
"I think I have no limit. I can keep going and going and going and not stop!"
Corinna
"The government doesn't care about climate change, they just want re-election. It's getting to the point where it feels like - what's the point of fighting?
