The Y Southland marks 150 years with portraits of the people who built it

One hundred and fifty years after the Invercargill YMCA was founded, The Y Southland is marking the milestone by turning the spotlight on the people who shaped it.

The organisation opens 150 Faces of The Y at its Tay Street premises on Friday 16 October, from 3pm to 6pm. The free exhibition features 149 portraits of people nominated by the community, each paired with a story about their connection to The Y.

The 150th space has been deliberately left blank, to be filled by a visitor on the night.

For those who cannot make the opening, the exhibition will stay up for viewing on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October.

Chief executive Steve Broad said the team had underestimated how many stories the project would uncover. "One story led to another story, and one connection led to another connection," he said.

Responses from the community ranged from memories of dances in the 1960s to camps, courses and gym memberships stretching back decades.

Broad said the response showed the depth of The Y's impact on the region. "We know 150 faces could never capture every person or every story," he said.

From 1876 to today

The wider YMCA movement began in London in 1844, and the Invercargill branch followed in 1876. Today The Y Southland runs youth services and education programmes, a fitness centre, a stadium and rock climbing facilities, as well as its outdoor camp at Omaui on the coast south of the city.

The exhibition has been put together in partnership with a transitional public art gallery.

On the night

Visitors to the opening can have their photo taken at a Polaroid station and add it to the wall. Everyone who does so goes into a prize draw for a year's gym membership at The Y, along with a prize pack from Shoe Clinic and JB Hi-Fi Invercargill.

There will also be a candy bar, face painting for children and a DJ.

Entry is free and open to the public across all three days. By inviting visitors to add their own photos to the wall, The Y is leaving the final shape of the exhibition to the community that has sustained it for a century and a half.