Into frame: the wahine shaping photography in Aotearoa

Sunday, 15 February 2026

A new book draws women and non-binary photographers into focus showcasing a selection of works held by Te Papa. In this extract of Slow Burn Ahi Tāmau, curator and author Lissa Mitchell points out that while often underrepresented in Aotearoa New Zealand’s photographic history, women have always been active across all areas of the art form.

Contributions by women to photography in Aotearoa have been consistently concerned with identity, whānau and family, place and connections across time - themes that are intertwined with the ways women have been able, and unable, to conduct their lives and make photography. This selection of works is focused on the use of photography - for archival, documentary and creative purposes - to record and express experiences and to challenge both systems of governance and the perspectives of audiences.

Slow Burn Ahi Tāmau: Women and Photography Māreikura Whakaahua by Lissa Mitchell, published by Te Papa Press, $35

My Body Is My Vehicle #16, Sage Rossie-Tong 2022

Digital photograph

Niflheim, from the series ‘Tua o Tāwauwau / Away with the Fairies’, Tia Ranginui, 2020

Pigment print

#189 Otakaro Park, Invercargill, from the series ‘Fitting In’, Nela Fletcher, 2022

Pigment print