“I really like this photograph featuring the Sarjeant Gallery building in the background and the stairs leading down to what is now the Memorial Hall and Majestic Square. It’s a reminder to me that some things never change while other things do. This is just a photograph of a mundane day, nothing particular happening yet I can spend a good amount of time staring at it flipping between ‘oh the Sarjeant Gallery and steps look exactly the same’ to ‘the cars look old fashioned now and Majestic Square is different’. The photograph isn’t all that old. It was produced in 1993 - 28 years ago. I wonder if I stood on Victoria Ave today and took my own photograph (to compare in another 28 years) if much would be different? I also wonder if the man in the car knew he was being photographed or was he taking a nap? There are a number of Ans Westra photographs in the collection that I like – they capture everyday life in a candid unposed way and evoke memories of familiarity and/or nostalgia.”
– Hannah Houshangi, 'My Choice' February 2022

After arriving in the country from her native Holland, Westra made her first trip up the Whanganui River in 1960 and began an engagement with the people of the region that continues to this day.