Thanks for listening to this episode of conversations with New Zealand photographers. I’m recording this intro on the 4th May 2026
My name’s Andy Spain, I’m an architectural photographer, working on projects across Aotearoa. I make these sporadic podcasts with photographers and curators and others in the small photography world here at the bottom of the world, to create an archive and it gives me an excuse to talk to people who I find interesting - you can find out more about me at www.andyspain.nz
Earlier Today I spoke to Lissa Mitchel, currently, curator of historical photography at Te Papa
In 2023 she wrote, through shaded Glass: Women and Photography in Aotearoa New Zealand 1860-1960 and her current exhibition which she curated (alongside an accompanying catalogue) is called Slow Burn, Women and Photography. It’s a fantastic show, running throughout 2026 at Te Papa and has allowed Lissa to go through the archive of women and non binary photographers work since 1960 to the present day, as well as adding to the collection through new acquisitions. It’s a roll call of many of the great names in contemporary photography here as well as a few new one’s that have been fun to discover. I particularly enjoyed the video work of Johanna Mechen and the older polaroid work of Janet Bayly and Dinah Bradley, all of whom were new to me.
We recorded it in the exhibition space at Te Papa, so there is some background noise and we had to end up moving to another area and then the lights all came on full so there are a few minor distractions but nothing like the torrential rain that made my chat with Kate Van der Drift a few weeks back unusable - I hope to re-record that soon with her.
If you have any suggestions for other recordings or collabs then drop me a line.
Enough waffle - here my conversation with the lovely Lissa Mitchel.
Picture of Lissa by Maarten Holl
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