Women’s Work: Underexposed - Panel Discussion
Women’s Work: Underexposed
Photography Exhibition showcasing Female Professional Photographers in New Zealand
Pioneer Women’s Hall
Ellen Melville Centre, Cnr High St & Freyberg Place, Auckland
5–15 March 2021
Women’s Work Panel Discussion on International Women’s Day
Qiane Matata-Sipu, Emily Moon, Dr Kaisa Wilson, Kristal Knight
Virtual Panel - Free to attend
Monday 8 March, 11:30am–1pm
Registration: www.womenswork.photography/panel
©Flash Studios Melanie Jenkins
Women’s Work, a unique exhibition celebrating the work of 24 women photographers was due to open on the 5th of March. An unwelcome shift in Alert Levels in Auckland brought a swift end to this opening. The show’s new dates are yet to be announced. The collective has shown resilience and determination as they have pulled together to hold a virtual panel event to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The panel will feature Photographer Qiane Matata-Sipu of Nuku Women, Agent & Director Emily Moon of Loupe, Diversity & Inclusion Practitioner Dr Kaisa Wilson of Gender Tick™ and Creative Director Kristal Knight of Saatchi & Saatchi. Founder and Photographer Victoria Baldwin , said: “ There is a cruel irony that a pandemic that has already created so much inequality for women, has also halted this show attempting to create equality for women.” Women make up the majority of photography students in NZ universities, up to 70–80% in some courses, however the number of women professional photographers represented by top photo agents in NZ is much lower, closer to 16%. It is the collective’s hope that by uniting, they can challenge the norms in the photography industry and create a level playing field for all. They are supported in this mission by Eight Production who have a strong commitment to empowering women in the film industry and work towards a 50/50 pledge equal representation of men and women on set. Women’s Work photographer Melanie Jenkins of the busy Flash Studios remarks how important it is to have “supportive clients” to keep women in the workforce. Photographer Shona Dey similarly agrees, “there shouldn’t be a tradeoff between balancing raising kids and running a business for photographers or anyone else.” Forbes 1 reports women make up 70-80% of consumer purchasing decisions, but most of the images used to market and influence those decisions are often created by men. The collective’s goal with this year’s show is to shine a light on the underexposed female perspective, and in turn, the wealth of talent here in NZ to create those visions. Sacha Stejko , signed to photography agency IDC says, “My biggest obstacle is getting noticed. The industry has always been known to be a bit of a boys club and, as a female photographer, I have learnt to take a ‘be so good they can't ignore you’ approach. Once you’ve been noticed, you have to constantly prove yourself.” The collective wants to flip the idea of being ‘underexposed’ onto our audience, so the exhibition becomes an opportunity to see what you’ve been missing, rather than simply drawing attention to a lack of representation. A special thanks to all our supporters : AIPA (Advertising and Illustrative Photographers Association), Sony, Auckland Council, Ellen Melville Centre, Saatchi & Saatchi, Eight Productions, Omni Graphics, Pacey Production Company, Frank Advice, and IDC (Image Driven Content).