Applicant Eligibility 

Photographers at any stage in their careers may apply to Exposure Studio. Whether you are still studying or have recently graduated, whether you are self-taught, an emerging, or an established photographer and you would like to be a part of the Studio collective, we encourage you to apply. Successful applicants will live or work within commuting distance of Calgary, enabling them to participate in live, community-based events.

Applicants to the Exposure Studio program must: 

• Provide a Calgary-area postcode to prove they are based in the Calgary metro area. 

• Have access to Zoom, which requires an internet connection. 

• Be available for the event sessions listed below.  

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

If you have questions about Exposure Studio’s applicant eligibility and/or the programme, please contact Exposure’s Coordinator Beth Kane via Beth@exposurephotofest.com .

How to Apply  

Application deadline: Tuesday 19 July, 12 PM MDT

To apply to Exposure Studio please use the link above.

The Exposure Studio 2.0 application requires information such as your name, contact, address and details regarding your artistic practice and how the programme will benefit you as a photographer.

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee that includes Exposure’s President & Board Chair, Dona Schwartz, Exposure’s Coordinator, Beth Kane and members of the Exposure Studio Collective and 1.0 programme. Applicants will be notified by the end of July. 

Exposure is committed to support individuals who face barriers in applying for this or other Exposure opportunities. If you require assistance, please email Exposure’s Coordinator Beth Kane via Beth@exposurephotofest.com .

Introduction Session
Sunday 7 August at 11:00 am

This session will be led by Exposure President & Board Chair, Dona Schwartz and Exposure Coordinator, Beth Kane. The sessions will allow everyone to e-meet and learn more about program and discuss topics that may be explored in Exposure Studio sessions. Advice will be given to participants on how to prepare for each session in order to get the most benefit from the Exposure Studio program. This session will also give us the opportunity to troubleshoot any technical issues participants may have.

Session 1
Pat Kane, Photographer
Thursday 11 August at 6:00 pm

Pat Kane is a photographer in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He takes a documentary approach to stories about people and life in Northern Canada with a special focus on issues important to Indigenous people, including the relationship between land and identity. Pat is a National Geographic Society grantee, a Royal Canadian Geographical Society grantee, and an alumni of the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. Pat is the co-founder and president of the Far North Photo Festival — a platform to help elevate the work of visual storytellers across the Arctic. Pat identifies as mixed Indigenous/settler as a proud Algonquin Anishinaabe member of the Timiskaming First Nation (Quebec). He’s part of the photo collectives Indigenous Photograph and Boreal Collective.

Session 2
Michael Foley, Owner, Foley Gallery, Writer & Education
Sunday 14 August at 11:00 am

Michael Foley opened his eponymous gallery in the fall of 2004 in New York after fourteen years of working with notable photography galleries including Fraenkel Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery and Yancey Richardson Gallery. The gallery has since been invited to participate in over thirty international and national art fairs including Paris Photo, Pulse, AIPAD, VOLTA, and the London Art Fair. Gallery exhibitions and artists have been reviewed and written about in numerous publications including The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Artforum, Modern Painters and ArtNEWS. Foley is the founder of The Photo Community, which offers classes and commentary on contemporary photography. He continues his interest in education by serving on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts and the International Center of Photography where he teaches and lectures on issues in contemporary photography. His weekly Substack column, The Photographers Report, details his life as a gallerist, offering an insider's guide to how photographers can move their career ahead in the fine art world. In the spring of 2022, he opened Launch Photo Books, a bookstore that specializes in photo book signings and talks.

Session 3
Tiffany Jones, Publisher, Overlapse Books
Sunday 21 August at 11:00 am

Raised in Canada, Tiffany studied photojournalism in college and later founded Overlapse imprint in London, UK while researching for her MA in Publishing. Her thesis topic investigated dynamics of the photobooks market (Oxford Brookes University, 2016). Overlapse has since published several internationally recognized and engaging books including You can call me Nana by Will Harris (USA), A Parallel Road by Amani Willett (USA), and Beyond Drifting: Imperfectly Known Animals by Mandy Barker (UK). In collaboration with photographers, artists and storytellers based around the world, Tiffany works with subjects that address social, cultural, and environmental issues – topics connected with human behaviour and experience. With over 30 years dedicated to arts publishing and photojournalism, Tiffany is an editor, designer, researcher and educator with international programmes and institutions. She is a visiting lecturer in photobook development at universities such as London College of Communication and Falmouth, and a mentor on the MA Photography course at Photography Studies College, Melbourne (2022). She has juried for book dummy awards such as the Fiebre Photobook Award (Spain) and Breadfield Dummy Award (Sweden), and frequently participates in portfolio reviews, including at the International Center for Photography (USA).

Session 4
Tailyr Irvine, Co-Founder of Indigenous Photograph
& Documentary Photographer
Thursday 1 September at 6:00 pm

Tailyr Irvine is a Salish and Kootenai journalist born and raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. She graduated from the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in Native American Studies. Her work focuses on providing in-depth representations of the lives and complex issues within the diverse communities that make up Native America. Tailyr is a National Geographic Explorer currently working on a project that explores the complexities of blood quantum and Native identity. Tailyr is a co-founder of Indigenous Photograph, a global database dedicated to support the media industry in hiring more Indigenous photographers to tell the stories of their communities and to reflect on how we tell these stories.

Session 5
Etinosa Yvonne, Documentary Photographer & Visual Artist
Sunday 4 September at 11:00 am

Etinosa Yvonne (b. 1989) is a self-taught documentary photographer and visual artist born and brought up in Nigeria. She works with various art forms including photos and videos. The primary focus of her work is the exploration of themes related to the human condition and social injustice. She has received grants from Women Photograph, National Geographic in partnership with Lagos Photo and Art X as well as an award from the Royal Photographic Society for her project; It’s All In My Head. She has participated in various Lab, mentorship and residency programmes. Etinosa is one of six talents selected for the 2020 cycle of the World Press Photo 6*6 Global talent in Africa. Her works have been shown in festivals, museums and galleries in different parts of the world. Her works have also been published in several international publications. She currently resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

Session 6
Taylor Poitras, Calgary Arts Development Specialist,
Individuals & Collectives Programs
Thursday 15 September at 6:00 pm

Taylor Poitras (she/her/hers) is a grant specialist at Calgary Arts Development, where she works with a team to develop and administer granting programs for artists, collectives, and non-profit arts organizations in the city of Calgary (known as Moh’kinsstis in Blackfoot). Taylor specializes in running programs for individual artists and collectives and enjoys working closely with artists in the community to learn more about their work, and the most authentic way for them to share their stories and support their practices. Taylor graduated with distinction from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, receiving her Bachelor of Commerce in tourism marketing and management. Born and raised in Moh’kinsstis, Taylor grew up an avid lover and supporter of the arts, volunteering at local events and festivals such as the Calgary Folk Music Festival for many years. When Taylor isn’t attending as many art and community events as humanly possible, she enjoys being outside, sharing food with friends and taking naps - because couldn’t we all use a little more rest these days?

Session 7
Dr Yan Wang Preston, PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST
SATURDAY 17 September at 11:00 am

Dr Yan Wang Preston is a photographic artist interested in the intercultural connections between landscape imagery, ecology, identity and migration.  Her work has won many international awards such as the 1st Prize, Syngenta Photography Award and the 1st Prize, Professional Landscape, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards. She has exhibited widely and internationally at venues including Fotofest Biennial 2020, USA, Gallery of Photography Ireland, the 56th Venice Biennale and Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum.

Preston’s monographs are Forest and Mother River (Berlin: Hatje Cantz, 2018). She received a PhD in Photography at the University of Plymouth in 2018 and currently lectures at the University of Huddersfield, UK. She is originally trained in Clinical Medicine in Fudan University, China.

Session 8
Mary Virginia Swanson, Advisor, Educator & Author
Sunday 18 September at 11:00 am

Mary Virginia Swanson is an advisor, educator and author who helps emerging and established photographers find the strengths in their work, identify appreciative audiences and present their work in an informed, professional manner. Driven by her passion to help artists find their audience and her keen interest in identifying new markets, Swanson is a respected teacher and mentor who has guided countless photographers through the changes in the photography and imaging industries. Swanson coauthored with Darius Himes the acclaimed Publish Your Photography Book (2011, Princeton Architectural Press; Revised & Updated, 2014); research for their 3rd edition of this title is underway. An active and celebrated contributor to the photographic community, Swanson’s educational seminars and public presentations are highly anticipated due to the range of information and depth of personal insights she shares with her audiences. Swanson is based in Tucson, Arizona; follow her on Instagram feeds @maryvirginiaswanson and @findingyouraudience .