Born in the Netherlands in 1936, Ans Westra immigrated here in 1957 and came to national attention in New Zealand for her images of Maori in a School Bulletin production ‘Washday at the Pa’.
She felt there needed to be a corrective to the tourist images of Maori life.
She went on to produce many books on New Zealand life, capturing the essence of the people of Aotearoa.
Her photographs are empathetic, warm and affirming of human values.
Actor and director Martine Baanvinger, who wrote and starred in the award-winning play ‘Solitude’, now brings to Cromwell a creative and innovative one-woman play about Ans.
DramaLAB’s visually stunning and intimate portrait focuses on Westra’s childhood in The Netherlands, her immigration journey to New Zealand and the start of her photography career in the 1960’s.
Martine was trained at the Theatre Academy in Amsterdam.
She is the founder of DramaLAB and creates a performance in a direct, transparent and intimate way.
The audience is taken on a journey where both drama and comedy are often equally present.
A skilled storyteller, she explores a creative approach to lighting, sound, digital imagery, transformation of set and costume.
This is another Arts on Tour production, bringing great New Zealand performers to rural centres. It is organised in partnership with ArtsCentral.
Where: The Gate Conference Centre, Cromwell
When: Thursday 22 July 2021 @ 7.30pm
Book: www.artscentral.co.nz
