Calgary’s 22nd Exposure fest ends record opening with community photo exchange

A record-setting opening and submission period with over 250 artists for Calgary’s longtime photography festival ended with a print exchange that brought together hobbyists and photography newcomers.

Those artists — photographers to be exact — were featured in 30 exhibits for the 22nd annual Exposure Photography Festival, including core ones at Calgary’s Contemporary Calgary, such as the North West Showcase spotlighting emerging artists from the western provinces and territories, and the International Open Call that highlighted artists from around the world.

Dennis Lee, one of the founders of The Alcove Centre of the Arts in downtown Calgary and its photo club, confirms Contemporary Calgary had over 1,300 people at opening night on Feb. 5.

And to cap off the month-long event, there was a photo exchange on Thursday, March 5, where anyone could sign up to swap photos.

Calgarians and visitors to the exchange would submit a photo of their own, then The Alcove Centre for the Arts’ photo club would print the image and place it inside an envelope to distribute at random. They could then connect with the photographer online or there at the event.

Inspired by the club’s monthly exchange that brings in an intimate number of people, the Exposure finale had over 100 people participating, alongside many who came out in droves to celebrate the conclusion of the festival’s 22nd year.

Lee says this was the biggest exchange the club ever had, and for many, it was their first experience engaging in an important part of photography.

“[Printing’s] such a fundamental aspect of photography that’s … become less important in the digital world, so I think people kind of forget how important that is to photography,” he said in an interview amid the bustling event.

“When you see someone see their photo printed for the first time, they’re often very pleasantly delighted.”

Aiming to make photography accessible for anyone interested, including himself, Lee started the Alcove Photo Club to build a community and a networking space for photographers of any level. He says this interest and commitment to building a community were part of why Emma Palm, the manager of Exposure Photography Festival, reached out to collaborate.

“When you’re part of the community, and you’re involved, and you’re engaged, and you’re active in your community … people notice, and then they reach out,” he explained.

“Exposure, they’re here to support photography, so we all have shared goals, and we accomplish them in different ways, but they all complement each other. It’s really awesome.”

Ray Muise, a commercial photographer who runs the photo club with Lee, says he is still surprised it has reached this point in its history, starting with only three members in 2023.

“It’s kind of a blur for me at least, because I joined not with any intention of actually being a part of the actual curation of the Alcove Photo Club,” he explained while signing people up to the photo exchange, swatting away Lee’s attempts at friendly banter and distraction.

“I wanted to just become a member.”

A 12-year veteran of photography, Muise, who explained photography wasn’t his first choice for a career, says being a member enabled him to give back to the community after finding it difficult to collaborate when he was a beginner, along with connecting with other photographers.

“Kind of coming from the print exchange being like — for us — this is kind of an interesting idea, to now seeing it’s not only an interesting idea for us, but it’s an interesting idea for so many other people,” he said.

“So, it’s just kind of neat to be … part of the community in a different way where it’s actually giving to other people.”

As a founder of The Alcove Centre for the Arts, Lee says the photo club’s philosophy aligns with the centre’s mission to create an inclusive space for all artists in the city. The centre, which was inspired by the Alcove’s other founder, executive director Bethel Afewok and RawVoices in 2016, offers workshops and open opportunities for anyone interested in expressing themselves in the arts, for free in downtown Calgary. The club, while not affiliated with the centre, does the same for budding photographers and veterans alike.

The Alcove’s print exchange happens monthly and typically involves participants discussing the photo in a group setting, but Lee and Muise said it would have been challenging to do so with how many people appeared.

Regardless, Lee says Calgary is emerging as a “great place” for photographers, especially as the Exposure Photography Festival continues to see large turnouts and more artists participate. This year’s exhibition featured well over 2025’s submissions.

“I think there’s so many accomplished photographers, but at the same time, there’s also a really growing group of emerging photographers, which I think was a bit more lacking in the past,” he said.

“And not saying that they weren’t there, but there wasn’t a lot of platforms for those people to come together and to be shown, so I think we’re seeing a lot of that come together, which is really great. I feel like it’s a great time to be here for photography.”

The Alcove Photo Club held around 40 events in 2025, and Lee hopes they can continue to offer an accessible and inclusive photography space for Calgarians in 2026 and beyond.

There are still several Exposure exhibits available around Calgary until the end of March, which you can find on the Exposure website.

More information on the photo club can be found online.