One Woman’s Play Aperture depicts the life of photographer Ans Westra

Something clicked when actress and director Martin Banfinger invited a famous New Zealand photographer to see one of his award-winning theatrical productions.

slotA woman played Banfinger this month on the life and work of Ans Westra, 85, across New Zealand.

Anas came to one of my other shows, insulationBanfinger, trained at the Amsterdam Theater Academy, said:

“Luckily they liked it, we clicked on it and they were happy that I was working on its story.”

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Baanvinger appreciated the opportunity to combine his various interests “together in one room”.

“I saw Ans work on Te Papa 20 years ago while traveling. He spoke to me on a deep level. I wanted to do a show in my own language, ”says Baanvinger, founder of DramaLAB.

“I am Dutch… My roots are in the Netherlands. It was an opportunity to do something of my culture with the history of New Zealand.

The play highlights the life of Wistra, a resident of Wellington, starting with her childhood in the Netherlands and emigration to New Zealand in 1957 and her subsequent career documenting life in Aotearoa.

“We go through her adolescence when she discovered her love for photography, the exhibition in Amsterdam [The Family of Man] And when her father invited her to New Zealand to spend six months with him.

“The rest is history.”

Early in her photographic career in the early 1960s, Wistra focused on documenting her favorite Maori works.

Her first photo was published on the cover of the new World, a magazine published by the Maori Ministry of Affairs, before starting to work as a freelance documentary photographer.

She had a deep interest in Maori culture, worked for school publications and this is her most controversial job, Was in Pennsylvania for a dayreleased, ”Banfinger said.

The picture book was distributed to elementary schools by School Publications, the public education publishing house.

The Maori protested that this was not correct and expressed only a colonial view of the world. It was eventually withdrawn at the request of the Maori Women’s Welfare Association and all 38,000 copies were destroyed.

“There’s a question-and-answer section after the show where these topics are often covered, that’s an important part of the show.”

Aperture uses a simple set of stories combined with innovative video rendering technologies and Westra imagery.

“What makes Ans’s work so special is the way she approaches photography – she looks at the viewer,” says Baanvinger.

With the support of Creative New Zealand, Arts On Tour NZ regularly organizes tours of leading New Zealand artists in rural areas and small centers.

Baanvinger had performed Aperture over 25 times this month, from Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt to a local auditorium in Arrowtown.

Final opening shows including the show Chez Loons in Lyttelton on Thursdays from 8 p.m. and at the Playhouse Theater in Mapua in one. On Saturday.

Bringing such stories to the Aotearoa countryside was “vital”.

“AOTNZ helps artists and musicians tour the country, giving artists like me the opportunity to present our work to new audiences and get paid for it in a professional manner,” said Burst.

“It’s also essential that audiences in small towns and places see these stories and professional arts. “