NOW CLOSED
ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER

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exposure 2022 international open call

Exposure welcomes diverse and innovative submissions from photographers and visual artists around the world who incorporate, celebrate or challenge the photographic medium within their practice. Submissions will be viewed by our juror and the Exposure team, and selected works will be shown as part of the 2022 Exposure Photography Festival in Calgary, Alberta at Contemporary Calgary - a significant visual arts destination dedicated to modern and contemporary art.

JUROR – Julie Crooks

Julie Crooks is Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She holds a PhD from the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK. Since joining the AGO in 2017, she has curated a number of significant exhibitions, including Free Black North (2017), Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires (2018), and presentations from the permanent collection such as Photography, 1920s–1940sWomen in Focus (2019–2020). She has actively participated in bringing works by Black artists into the AGO's collection, including Dawoud Bey, Paul Kodjo, Ming Smith, Malick Sidibé, David Zapparoli, and most notably the Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs, acquired in 2019. Julie has also maintained an active presence outside the AGO. She co-curated Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2018. She is also a founding Board member of Black Artists Network in Dialogue (BAND), where she also curated several exhibitions including, Ears, Eyes, Voices: Black Canadian Photojournalists, 1970s–1990s (2017), and she is a founding member of the Black Curators Forum which launched in 2019 to advocate for and support Black curators working in Canada.

SUBMISSION FEE & deadline

The submission fee for up to three images is $35 CAD. Additional images may be submitted for $5 each, up to ten images total. The deadline for submissions is September 10, 2021 at 6pm MST.


ABOUT EXPOSURE

The annual Exposure Photography Festival presents exhibitions that showcase photographic work by internationally renowned practitioners, alongside emerging and established talent from Alberta. The festival provides an exciting, innovative meeting place for photographers and art lovers to connect with one another, along with curators and photography professionals from around the world. Exposure 2021 received 878,355 visits and welcomed audiences local and international, loyal and new. From New Zealand to Mexico, South Korea to Zimbabwe, Uruguay to Hungry, Exposure grew its audience worldwide with members based in 86 different countries engaging with our online exhibitions and events. Exposure 2020 received 859,543 in-person visits to its exhibitions from Exposure’s local and international audience members. The festival brings together people of all ages to celebrate Alberta’s rich photography scene and thriving creative communities. 

TESTIMONIALS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS

“Exposure's respect for photography and those artists resonates throughout the city.  The programming is exceptional and inspiring.
If you are a supporter of photography and the arts, mark this festival on your to-do list and make your way to Calgary.” 
Dave Shelley, Co-Founder of Photoville

“Taking place in and around its home of Calgary, the 2021 edition promises to deliver the best in emerging
and established photography talent from Canada and around the world.”
Daniel Milroy-Maher, British Journal of Photography

“Visiting Exposure Festival for the first time in 2020 I was impressed by their multifaceted approach to photography and diverse programme.
Observing the amount of care and passion that goes into their festival made me sure I was in good hands.”
Amelie Schüle, Projects & Programming at FOAM, previously Curator of UNSEEN

COMMENTS BY EXHIBITING ARTISTS

“Loved being part of this (Exposure 2021)! I’ve never been so supported by a festival!”
Rachael McArthur

“I have been so honoured to be part of Exposure 2021 - loved the billboard-exhibition!
I really appreciated the personal care you invested in each artist. I felt very welcomed.”
Mirja Maria Thiel


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EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITIES 

All those who submit their work will:

  • Have the opportunity to be featured on the Exposure Photography Festival curated Instagram account reaching audiences worldwide! Exposure will be sharing examples of strong submissions from June - September. To enhance your chance of being featured on our platform, please make sure you submit your work early.

  • Gain visibility with the juror and Exposure team.

Those who have been selected by the Juror will:

  • Exhibit their work in the Exposure 2022 International Open Call exhibition. 

  • Be invited to become involved with the exhibition’s related programming - such as online events, artist talks, exhibition tours, group critiques and more!

  • Be invited to show selected work in a public exhibition presented on Pattison Outdoor digital billboards located in the City of Calgary.

  • Have their name and website link featured on the Exposure website as an artist profile, reaching audiences worldwide. 

  • Have the opportunity to win one of the Exposure Awards, as listed below. 

  • Receive an artist fee of $158 CAD.

  • Potentially receive an artist bursary to help support production costs pending successful funding. If we are awarded this funding, we will share detailed information with you as soon as possible.

  • Receive a 20% discount with Exposure’s 2022 print partner ABL Imaging Group.

  • Have their work promoted in the Exposure 2022 official press release pack. Previous press has included British Journal of Photography, AnOther Magazine, Phmuseum, Avenue Magazine, NEXT Magazine, MUSÉE Vanguard of Photography Culture and more!

EXPOSURE AWARDS

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to be selected for one of the following awards:

The Magenta Foundation International Photographer Award
New for Exposure 2022 Magenta’s Director MaryAnn Camilleri will be selecting one exhibiting photographer for this new award! The recipient will be invited to share their work and practice on the @MagentaFoundation Instagram for a week-long take-over reaching audiences worldwide. The Magenta Foundation is an international non-profit supporting photographers and artists based in Toronto, Canada.

Work Show Grow International Photographer Award
New for Exposure 2022, Work Show Grow’s Founder Natasha Caruana will be selecting one exhibiting photographer for this new award! The recipient will be offered:

  • Free 3-month membership to Work Show Grow school

  • A Work Show Grow week-long Instagram takeover

  • An opportunity to present work on our Monthly Artist Salon alongside a one-to-one mentorship session from Natasha Caruana.

Work Show Grow is an online educational platform for creatives. The Work Show Grow school is a supportive, motivating and go-getting community. We love teaching artists how to get paid for their work. 


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BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR WORK

  • Download and review ‘The Fine Print’ pdf  to familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of the call for submissions. 

  • Select a series of photographs that best represents your practice and prepare a written statement about your work. Your submitted pieces should show a thematically connected body of work. We strongly recommend that you submit one project-based body of work per submission. You may enter more than one body of work however if you choose to do so, you must pay the submission fee for each series you submit separately.

  • Images can be shot in any format, using any camera, on film or digital. We welcome diverse submissions from photographers and visual artists who incorporate, celebrate or challenge the photographic medium within their practice; this includes photo collage and experimental photography. If you are unsure if your work is eligible for this open call please email Exposure’s Coordinator, Bethany Kane, at Beth@ExposurePhotoFest.com.

ELIGIBILITY 

  • All photographers, visual artists and creatives working with the medium of photography worldwide are eligible to submit their work.

  • Exposure is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage submissions from members of underrepresented groups and we welcome submissions from gender and sexually diverse candidates, racialized persons/persons of colour, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities.


SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSIONS

  • Prints can be displayed in a variety of ways including framed, mounted, pinned, hung with magnets or printed on vinyl. Within your submission details please tell us how you intend your work to be displayed and its preferred size.

  • One to three works from your submission, depending on their intended installation and size, will be selected for the exhibition at Contemporary Calgary.

  • Exhibiting artists are responsible for the printing of their work. The Exposure 2022 Print Partner will be offering a 20% discount on your production costs. To further support our artists, Exposure has applied for funding to provide an artist bursary to help support printing costs. If we are awarded this funding we will share detailed information with you as soon as possible.  

  • Please note that if COVID-19 affects the 2022 festival the Emerging Photographers Showcase will be presented during the festival month of February both online and in the public via the Exposure website and digital billboards presented in the City of Calgary.

TIMELINE

Call for Submissions goes live: June, 2021
Open Call Deadline: September 10, 20201
Notification of Results: End of September, 2021
Print Deadline: December 1, 2021
Exhibition Installation: January 2022
Exhibition Opens: February 2022  


PREVIOUS EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS

Click on the images below to find out more about each photographer and artist. Please see the Online International Open Call Exhibition for other previous exhibitors.


LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that the Exposure Photography Festival takes place on the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. We would also like to acknowledge that Exposure Photography Festival is situated on land adjacent to where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, and that the traditional Blackfoot name of this place is “Moh’kins’tsis”, which we now call the City of Calgary. Finally, we honour and acknowledge all Nations, indigenous and non, who live, work and play in Moh’kins’tsis and help steward this land and honour and celebrate this territory.


EXPOSURE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS PARTNERs

Exposure would like to thank the 2022 Call for Submissions Partners. Without their generosity, we would not be able to deliver our programs and activities to our dedicated community.