“Hutterite by Kelly Hofer” is a 240‑page annotated book of photographs depicting
(for the first time from the inside) the non‑staged, colorful, and often mystified experience of growing up as a
hutterite teenager on the Canadian prairies. Hofer captured the photos between the ages of 11 and 19 in his
community and in neighboring colonies in Manitoba. In 2012, he made the life‑changing, difficult decision to leave the colony and publically come out as gay, igniting a national, mainstream conversation about LGBT hutterites for the first time. Hofer, now an accomplished photographer, technology/textile artist, and LGBT activist, has assembled this book in the hopes an honest portrayal from the inside will demystify the hutterite lifestyle.
“I started photographing life around me at age 11 and just saw it as a form of art. I didn’t consider my work
or this series as a 'project' until leaving the colony in 2012, when I quickly realized just how misunderstood and
mysterious the hutterite lifestyle is to outsiders,” said Hofer. “All of the people in the book are my family, friends,
community or neighboring colonies in Manitoba. With both perspectives on life I now have, it's the right time for
me to release the book and show the remarkable beauty of Hutterite life.”