Ans Westra exhibition at Thistle Inn

Suite, in collaboration with Thistle Inn, presents an exhibition of Ans Westra photographs, located upstairs at Thistle Inn.

Suite art gallery in Cuba Street Wellington houses a permanent living museum dedicated to Ans’ lifetime of work and images. This collaboration with Thistle Inn displays a bespoke collection of images from throughout the photographer’s career.

Spanning more than 50 years of insightful documentation of Maori culture through times of significant political and cultural change, the photographs of Ans Westra have made an undeniable contribution to the photographic scene in New Zealand.

Born in 1936 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Ans moved to New Zealand in 1957. A year later, she joined the Wellington Camera Club. Ans’ interest in Māori culture pervades her work, as seen in her controversial 1964 publication Washday at the Pā, which follows a rural Māori family awaiting relocation to a state house in the city. Ans revisited the family in 1998; this series was eventually published in 2011, titled Washday at the Pā Revisited.

The exhibition is on now and runs until 19 November at Thistle Inn, 3 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon, Wellington.

Check out more exhibitions and events on our calendar page.