Held annually in February
The Exposure Photography Festival is a month-long
celebration of photography across Alberta.
We highlight exceptional contemporary work, create opportunities for emerging artists, and invite the public to engage with a wide variety of visual storytelling through juried open-call exhibitions and a diverse array of partner programming.
Next Edition: FEBRUARY 2026
Join us this February! While submissions have closed for our International Open Call and North West Showcase Exhibitions, there’s still time to register your own exhibition and events across Alberta.
We welcome everyone—galleries, artist-run centres, DIY spaces, local businesses, collectives, curators, and independent photographers and visual artists. By coming together, we can showcase a broad spectrum of perspectives, practices, and ideas, sparking new conversations and connections in Alberta’s photographic community.
Registration deadline: Sunday, December 7th, 2025
EXHIBITION FEE: $250
RELATED EVENTS: FREE
STAND-ALONE EVENTS: $60
Image courtesy of Alec Soth
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
How to Begin…Again | Artist Talk by Alec Soth, Presented by The Camera Store
We’re thrilled to announce that Alec Soth will be making his way to Calgary for an artist talk on Saturday, February 28th at the Central Library. Join us as Soth discusses his origins as an artist, the evolution of his practice, and celebrated projects like “Sleeping by the Mississippi” and his latest book, “Advice for Young Artists.”
Image by Louie Villanueva-Eyre | Contemporary Calgary
HEADQUARTERED AT CONTEMPORARY CALGARY
Since 2020, Contemporary Calgary has hosted our open-call exhibitions: the International Open Call and Emerging Photographers Showcase, as well as a solo exhibition featuring the previous festival’s Emerging Photographer of the Year.
Admission to the Exposure exhibitions is free and open to the public during regular gallery hours.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that the Exposure Photography Festival is situated on land adjacent to where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. The traditional Blackfoot name of this place is “Moh’kins’tsis”, which we now call the City of Calgary. This is the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. It is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. We honour and acknowledge all Nations, who live, work and play in Moh’kins’tsis, help steward this land, honour and celebrate this territory.