I See You Showcase Celebrates Glen Eden
Glen Eden has a name most people don't know. Te Kawerau ā Maki, the mana whenua of this place, call it Ōkaurirahi - the place of the huge kauri.
That is the kind of knowledge that lives in a community, waiting to be shared. That's what the I See You exhibition is about.
Now in its second year, I See You is a digital photo exhibition created by Community Waitākere in partnership with the Glen Eden Business Association and funded by Waitākere Ranges Local Board. What began in 2024 with 73 slides has grown to over 100 - a living, expanding portrait of a community that is more layered, more storied, and more connected than a suburb on a map suggests.
The exhibition moves through three threads: people, places, and culture. It captures the Glen Eden RSA and the Playhouse Theatre alongside newer arrivals - La Rosa, Fiesta Kitchen, Latte Tai. It features local schools, sports clubs, the fire brigade. And it holds small, specific details that need celebrating: that Glen Eden is home to Auckland's first Niuean café. That a local dry cleaner’s laundered jerseys for the All Blacks.
Kirstie Barton-O’Brien from the Glen Eden Business Association, was instrumental in opening doors to local businesses and organisations - many of whom had never had their story told in this way.
"Glen Eden has so much going on that people don't always see. This exhibition gave businesses and community groups a chance to say: we're here, and this is what we're about."
The exhibition ran at Glen Eden Library, and the response has been immediate. "The photo exhibition has been a hit with the children- they were thrilled to see themselves on screen," said one librarian.
That moment, a child seeing their community reflected back, is what this kind of work is for.
"We went out, had conversations, and listened. What came back was a community that had a lot to say about who they are and what matters to them," said Lynnette Van Nes, Community Developer - Neighbourhoods at Community Waitākere.
The exhibition continues to be displayed at Glen Eden Library.
