Unveiling Ans Westra Vault, Unseen Work And Community Campaign

ANS WESTRA 2024 

For the final three months of 2024, {Suite} Wellington will celebrate the life and work of the late Ans Westra with a series of exhibitions and community initiatives. On show will be a large amount of previously unseen material, aligning with a public programme of talks and events relating to Ans’ work and a city-wide campaign to identify more people portrayed in her 64 years of social documentary photography.  

Dutch-born Ans is best known for her images depicting life in Aotearoa New Zealand and in particular te ao Māori; her photographic catalogue is now widely thought of as a photo album of the nation. Less well known is her international work made in the 1960's and 1980's, and images of the landscape made in the 2000's.  

October - Learning and Education 

October will focus on Ans’ significant contribution to learning and education in Aotearoa New Zealand and her involvement in school publications. Arguably her most well-known material was provided for Washday at the Pa, published in 1964 by the Department of Education and withdrawn later the same year following complaints initiated by the Māori Women’s Welfare League.   

The first school publication with both images and text by Ans was Viliami of the Friendly Islands, set in Tonga and published in 1963. Over the next 60 years, Ans provided wide-ranging material for over 100 educational texts which were used in schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.   

These photographs and publications have left a lasting legacy on New Zealand children, and our social history. Each of the three exhibitions will showcase prints from three school publications, demonstrating the breadth and range of Ans’ educational work:

Viliami of the Friendly Islands (1963): 3-10 October
Holiday in the Capital (1968): 11-19 October 
Children of Holland (1969): 25-31 October  

On 9 October, {Suite} hosts a panel discussion on Ans’ contribution to learning and her impact on New Zealand education. Featuring recently appointed Race Relations Conciliator, Dr Melissa Derby, Professor Paul Moon, author of Ans Westra: A Life in Photography and moderated by writer, curator, producer Mark Amery.

November – Global Views 

Although Ans’ will be best remembered for her poignant documentation of life in Aotearoa New Zealand, her astute observations of other people and cultures deepened her interest in wider social and political matters. 

On show from 1-20 November will be photographs from two significant bodies of work made in the mid-1980’s:

New York City (1987): 1–10 November
The Philippines (1986): 11–20 November  

In 1986, Ans won the regional competition in the Commonwealth Photography Award and the £1,000 prize money enabled her to travel to the Philippines later that year. Ans was drawn to the unfamiliar landscapes, cultures and ethnicities which she photographed extensively. While in the Philippines, Ans also undertook two commissions, one for UNICEF and the other for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The following year Ans travelled to New York City. By this time, she had veered from the territory of art photography and towards political documentary and had made a shift from observation to intervention when it came to certain social issues.     

To accompany this exhibition, and commenting on our place in the world, International Legal Academic, Professor Alexander Gillespie will give a talk on 7 November, just days after the US election, discussing the result, and the implications for New Zealand. Introduced by {Suite} Director David Alsop.  

December - Nō hea koe? Ko wai koe?

In 2014 a project commenced with the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa to digitise Ans’ vast archive. Free access to her images was extremely important to Ans and her intention to leave a legacy to Aotearoa New Zealand. Her extensive digital archive is accessible to all, via the National Library's website together with catalogue information about locations, dates and people portrayed in the images where known. 

The digital archive is an ongoing organic project, with new image information continually recorded and updated. The National Library regularly hosts public engagement events with Pasifika and local other communities, to identify people and enhance the libraries catalogue records.  

We welcome artist Suzanne Tamaki, Māori Arts and Events Facilitator at Wellington City Council, to lead Nō hea koe?Ko wai koe?, a community campaign around the city to identify and connect with more people featured in Ans’ photos.   

The idea came from my friend Chrissy O at Hunters and Collectors who bought a gorgeous photo but didn’t know who the people were. I shared it on Facebook and got responses straight away, eventually his whanau got tagged in. The korero with the posts were hilarious, and insightful. So I thought, I’m going to be a detective and use social media to find whanau for other amazing images. All the gen x and boomers have got Facebook, and their kids and mokopuna. Someone’s gonna get tagged!   
Suzanne Tamaki

On 21 November, Ans’ daughter Lisa van Hulst will lead a korero about the Nō hea koe? Ko wai koe? project with National Library Photography Curator, Dr Louise Garret, Research Librarian, Pacific, Suliana Vea, and Suzanne Tamaki.  

Introducing the Ans Westra Vault  

Ans’ huge collection of negatives is stored safely at the National Library in Wellington. However, there is also a lifetime of important and valuable additional archival material which also requires cataloguing and preservation. 

Following her passing last year, Ans’ work and archive has been moved to a large vault in an historical building in central Wellington, accessible for both art and educational purposes. On display is a library of publications including Ans’ images, her cameras, prints, proof sheets, material and paraphernalia related to her art practice and life.  

For full details of the Ans Westra 2024 series and to RSVP for events visit www.suite.co.nz/answestra2024 

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