Tirohia Mai / Look At Us Now, Women in Aotearoa New Zealand

Department of Internal Affairs – Te Tari Taiwhenua

Tirohia Mai / Look At Us Now, Women in Aotearoa New Zealand

National Library of New Zealand l Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa
Until 15 November | 8.30 am – 5.00pm, Monday to Saturday | Ground Floor

The recently renovated National Library on Molesworth Street is becoming the go-to destination at the north end of Wellington for people wanting to see fresh, thoughtful and provocative exhibitions raising issues about New Zealand - past, present and future.

The Library offers a free public programme to increase engagement with its collections and to facilitate access to knowledge and information to inform contemporary analysis and contribute to future thinking. With 2013 the 120th anniversary of New Zealand women becoming the first in the world to win the vote, the Library’s new programme takes a fresh look at the contribution women have made and are making to New Zealand – often focusing on forgotten or overlooked stories. The programme has three components:

• Tirohia Mai / Look At Us Now, curated by former Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan and Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, draws on the collections of the National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library to examine how women’s lives have changed and what issues endure. It canvases a large territory from the 13 Maori women who signed the Treaty of Waitangi through women’s suffrage and the 1970s women’s liberation movement to the present.

• The award-winning short film Night Shift by Zia Mandviwalla, which premiered at Cannes last year and is currently touring the international festival circuit is screening continuing. In keeping with the theme of overlooked contributions, the 15 minute film poignantly brings alive the story of a cleaner, an often invisible person in our society who makes a huge contribution to making life comfortable and safe for everyone.

• A glimpse into the library’s collection of more than 11,000 photographs and postcard by Christchurch centenarian Gladys Goodall. Her iconic photographs, which were made into postcards by Whitcoulls, shaped perceptions of New Zealand as a tourist destination from the 1950s – 1980s.

ENDS

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