Ans Westra honoured with living museum
A heritage building on Wellington’s Cuba Street is being dedicated exclusively to prominent New Zealand photographer Ans Westra’s works, showcasing her illustrious career. The living museum will be coordinated by Wellington’s {Suite} gallery and will open on April 20 — timed to coincide with the artist’s 80th birthday.
{Suite}’s owner and director, David Alsop, says that, for nearly 60 years, Ans Westra has used her vision as a photographer to capture vivid glimpses of New Zealand life.
“Ans is a brilliant observer whose work has been pivotal in documenting Aotearoa life and landscapes, particularly that of Tangata Whenua. Over time her photos have become a great source of community and national pride,” says Alsop.
Marama Fox, co-leader of the Maori Party, will speak at the gallery’s official opening, and she believes Ans has contributed greatly to New Zealand’s culture and heritage.
“Ans’ strength is an ability to portray our culture as it is, not projecting images as an object for tourism, but for the people in the images,” she says.
The space will allow greater public access to Ans’ photography, and a rotating selection of her work will be on display, while an online archive of the artist’s images will be available to browse, thanks to a recent agreement with the Alexander Turnbull Library that will result in the digitization of Ans’ collection.
Alsop says, “A private museum dedicated to one artist is unprecedented in New Zealand, but we feel the beauty and integrity of Ans’ work needs to be appreciated by as many people as possible.”
The gallery will be located above {Suite} gallery, 243 Cuba Street, Wellington, and more information can be found at suite.co.nz.