Aotearoa through Ans’ unique view
Photos go on display as part of Dutch Week
Some of celebrated Dutch Kiwi photographer Ans Westra’s work will be honoured with an exhibition in Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom in Foxton opening on Saturday, April 23.
It will be called Modern Aotearoa in the Making: A Photographic Record Spanning Almost 50 Years Street level culture, change and tensions — Through the lens of Ans Westra.
Westra captured the nation’s cultural and generational changes on film, like no other for over 50 years. Some 80 of her finest works will be on display in the art exhibition in the Māpuna — Kabinet art gallery in Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.
The show is based on the much earlier 2004 retrospective exhibition and book Handboek, organised by BWX.
“Handboek provides an indepth insight into the photographic journey of one of our country’s most persistent documenters,” said Luit Bieringa, curator and coordinator of the project.
“To see part of that collection of works come to life again, for yet another generation of admirers — in an art
gallery with both a Dutch and Ma¯ ori name — is a fitting tribute to Ans’ work.
“Several of her ‘photostories’ addressed race relations, at a time when that discussion and public reactions were much more fraught than today. It is good to see how far we’ve moved forwards, as a nation.”
This Ans Westra Photographs: after Handboek exhibition features photos ranging from extra-ordinary street scenes to moving marae gatherings, and 1960s rock ‘n’ rollers to 1990s hikoi protesters. It also includes several books featuring Westra’s images, press clippings and the documentary Private Journeys, produced by Jan and Luit Bieringa in 2006.
She witnessed a great many defining social events, over many decades. An unobtrusive woman, staring intently into a vintage Rolleiflex camera at chest height — documenting life as it unfolded in front of her.
Born in 1936 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Westra immigrated to New Zealand in 1957. She began her career in 1962 as a fulltime freelance photographer, working mainly for the Department of Education and Te Ao Hou, a magazine published by the Department of Māori Affairs.
A defining moment in her career was the publication of Washday at the Pā, a school journal made for 8-year-olds, which followed a day in the life of a rural Māori family awaiting relocation to a state house in the city.
It was controversially withdrawn from circulation by the Department of Education, following protests by the Māori Women’s Welfare League.
“Ans has been a dedicated supporter of our Oranjehof museum initiative from day one,” said Arjan van der Boon, co-chair of the Dutch Connection Centre museum trust, who is thrilled Westra’s work is coming to Foxton.
“We already have eight of her works permanently on display in our exhibition. Having another 80 in the gallery is our way to say ‘thank you’ to Ans for all her support.
“We want to offer Ans public recognition for her magnificent contribution to documenting a nation in transition. To do that in Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom will be a fitting tribute,” said van der Boon.
“After all, we are a multicultural facility that was established through a partnership between mana whenua, Dutch immigrants, and mainstream Pa¯keha represented through Horowhenua District Council.”
Dutch Ambassador Mira Woldberg and the Hon Marja Lubeck will open the Ans Westra Photographs: after Handboek exhibition on April 23, at the Big Dutch Day Out.
As the official launch of a nationwide Dutch Week, the day is organised by Dutch windmill De Molen, next to Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.
“Dutch Week aims to enhance the visibility of local Dutch communities and businesses, and the contributions they make to a diverse New Zealand,” said van der Boon.
Landmarks around the country such as the Michael Fowler Centre and the Sky Tower will light up orange — the national colour of the Netherlands. A Dutch Film Festival features in the three major cities and a nationwide Dutch Speech Competition for youngsters will promote Dutch language.
“Having Ans showing us her view of our nation at the same time, through the unique lens of an immigrant witnessing history in the making, will make that occasion extra special.”
Westra has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout her career, including the prestigious Commonwealth Photography Award in 1986, as the Pacific regional winner. She was awarded the Companion of the Order of New Zealand Merit (CNZM) for services to photography in 1998. And she received an Arts Foundation Icon Award in 2007, and an Honorary Doctorate from Massey University, Wellington, in 2015.
She lives and works in Wellington.
Westra’s print archive and copyright is managed by David Alsop, director of {Suite} Gallery and co-ordinator of this exhibition at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. {Suite} has galleries in Wellington and Auckland — prints from the exhibition are for sale.