February 6—March 5, 2026
Held annually in February, the Exposure Photography Festival is a month-long celebration of photography across Alberta.
We champion powerful contemporary work, create space for emerging voices, and invite everyone to explore the many ways images can tell stories through juried open-call competitions, curated exhibitions, and a diverse array of partner programming. This year’s festival will feature the work of over 250 artists, presented in over 30 venues across Alberta.
Join us on Thursday, February 5th, at Contemporary Calgary as we open our core exhibitions: the North West Showcase, International Open Call, 2025 Exposure Emerging Photographer of the Year, Lana Collins’ All My Sisters, Here, Together, curated by Jasmine Piper and Beth Kane, and NEXTDOOR – a cross-border collaboration between Strata Editions and Exposure, generously funded by Calgary Arts Development.
Photo by: Lana Collins
Lana Collins: All My Sisters
Lana Collins’ All My Sisters is a love letter to sisterhood in all its forms: the chosen, the inherited, the accidental, and the fleeting. It honours the bonds that grow between friends, collaborators, strangers, and everyone who quietly participates in communal care.
Photo by: Kathryn Audet
The North West Showcase
The North West Showcase places a spotlight on emerging photographic talent across Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Juried by Rachel Wine, the exhibition features: April Neuhaus, Brandon Leung, Brody McQueen, Carey Shaw, Elisha Lozares, Jonathan Van Elslander, Kathryn Audet, Madison Chow, Melika Forouzan, Melissa Naef, Michael de Haan, and Sarah Neumann.
Photo by: Nicolás Bernal
The International Open Call
The International Open Call celebrates diverse points of view from around the world. Juried by Mariama Attah, 12 artists remind us of photography’s capacity to close the gap between self and others. Featuring: Anton Bou, Atsushi Momoi, Briar Pine, Elaheh Abdolahabadi, Epiphany Knedler, Grace Yan, Liam Mackenzie, Nicolas Bernal, Ronald Tilleman, Sarah Fuller, Swen Bernitz, and Tianhu Yuan.
Photo by: Alec Soth
NEXTDOOR
NEXTDOOR, co-curated by Emma Palm and Will Warasila, is a group exhibition that investigates the evolving relationships between Canada and the United States. The exhibition brings together five American photographers and five Canadian photographers, whose photographs reflect on cross-border connections, shared landscapes, and cultural contrasts. Exhibiting artists include: Alec Soth, Bill McDowell, Eve Tagny, Isobel Okoro, Justine Kurland, Kelli Connell, Michel Huneault, Robert Lyons, Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse, and Vikky Alexander.
Glenna Cardinal. Weaselhead Road – Chaguzagha-tsi Tina, 1980.
Here, Together
Here, Together, curated by Jasmine Piper and Beth Kane, brings together twelve artists who share life on Treaty 7 territory. Through diverse identities and lived experiences, these artists explore how they belong, find home, and make relationships with this place. However, these questions are answered, we all have one thing in common; where we are.
The exhibition features six public art presentations, including one outside Contemporary Calgary. The artwork is presented across Mohkinstsis and Treaty 7 in spaces where it can live and breathe on the land where it was created. Through encounters with other people’s stories — some familiar, some new — these installations inspire empathy and care for those around us, while sharing perspectives on what it means to be here, together.
