Coinciding with International Women’s Day on 8 February, Women’s Work: A Different Lens will run over four days from 6 March at Auckland’s Ellen Melville Centre. It features the work of 21 women from the Advertising and Illustrative Photographers’ Association (AIPA).
It’s makers say the exhibition is an opportunity to explore the female gaze as an alternative to the ubiquitous male perspectives that dominate commercial and advertising photography.
“With this exhibition, we really want to give people a nudge and make them question their assumptions,” says AIPA Vice President Victoria Baldwin.
With over 40 images on show, the exhibition will show each photographers’ unique approach, while representing a distinctly female viewpoint.
The exhibition hopes to shine a light on the issues of female representation in the industry. Despite the fact that women make up the majority of photography students in New Zealand universities, only 20% of women commercial photographers are represented by photo agents in New Zealand.
Wellington photographer Amber-Jayne Bain points out the pitfalls of this representation gap. “It’s not just that women are not represented, it’s that women’s points of view aren’t represented,” she says. “I feel like the exhibition is going to be a reminder that there is a different point of view.”
Alongside the exhibition, the event will feature a panel discussion on International Women’s Day, bringing together artists and industry professionals to discuss issues around the gender imbalance in the photographic industries.
The panel will include photographer Sara Orme, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Isobel Kerr-Newell, Match Photographers’ Gerardine Turney, and Dr. Kaisa Wilson from Gender Tick.
Women’s Work: A Different Lens opens on 6 – 9 March 2020.
Location: Pioneer Women’s Hall at the Ellen Melville Centre, Auckland
Times: Fri–Sat 9am-6pm, Sun–Mon 9am-4pm
Cost: Free
