Share your work, build community, refine your practice.
PORTFOLIO REVIEW 2026
The Exposure Portfolio Review presents a rare opportunity for photographers and visual artists to receive one-to-one feedback from industry-leading professionals.
SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, February 28, 2026
At the Taylor Institute for Teaching & Learning, University of Calgary. Reviewers will be announced on an ongoing basis! Stay tuned to social media and our newsletter for updates.
LEARN MORE
The Exposure Portfolio Review offers photographers the opportunity to share their work in one-on-one sessions with professionals from across the photography community. Reviewers include curators, editors, educators, and practicing artists, each offering distinct perspectives, experiences, and opportunities.
Participants will receive four 20-minute review sessions, allowing time for focused, individualized feedback on their work and practice. Reviews are conversational and can address a range of topics, including image selection and sequencing, conceptual development, presentation strategies, exhibition and publication opportunities, and possible next steps for a body of work.
The Portfolio Review is open to artists at all stages of their careers, from those seeking early guidance to established practitioners looking for a fresh perspective. The emphasis is on thoughtful exchange, critical engagement, and professional development.
These sessions often provide more than immediate feedback. They can help clarify direction, encourage new ways of thinking, and support longer-term growth in an artist’s practice. Whether you are refining a project, preparing work for exhibition or publication, or seeking informed feedback, the Exposure Portfolio Review offers a supportive and focused space for discussion.
COST: $175
DISCOUNT: $20 for Portfolio Review Workshop Attendees
MEET YOUR REVIEWERS
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Beate (she/her) is the Art Director at Alberta Views magazine. In this capacity, she oversees the magazine’s visual direction and collaborates with a broad network of local photographers and illustrators. Her work is grounded in visual storytelling, with a particular emphasis on photography as a means of fostering emotional engagement and deepening readers’ connection to editorial content.
Before joining Alberta Views, Beate held design positions at Vancouver Review magazine, Serengeti Design in Vancouver, and multiple design agencies in Germany. With over 25 years of experience in the design profession, she brings a keen eye for visual storytelling and a deep understanding of how thoughtful design and photography can elevate meaningful narratives.
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Brad Zellar has worked as a writer and editor for various newspapers and magazines. He collaborated with the photographer Alec Soth on the seven-part LBM Dispatch, an irregularly published newspaper that chronicled American community life in the 21st century. Zellar is the author of Suburban World: The Norling Photos, Conductors of the Moving World, and House of Coates (with Soth). His most recent novel is Till the Wheels Fall Off (Coffee House Press). He works frequently with photographers and photobook publishers, and along with Ethan Aaro Jones is the publisher of Nocturno Books.
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Dona Schwartz received her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communications, University of Pennsylvania, and is the author of Waucoma Twilight: Generations of the Farm (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992) and Contesting the Super Bowl (Routledge, 1997). Her photographic monograph, In the Kitchen, was published by Kehrer Verlag in 2009. Kehrer published On the Nest in 2015. Her award-winning work has appeared in publications world-wide and has been exhibited at international venues including the Saatchi Gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria, National Portrait Gallery, London, Blue Sky Gallery, and Milwaukee Art Museum, among many others. Her work is included in the collections of the US Library of Congress, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, George Eastman Museum, Musée de l'Elysée, Harry Ransom Center, Portland Art Museum, Center for Creative Photography, and Kinsey Institute. She is Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Calgary. She is President and Chair of Exposure.
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George Webber’s artful photographs spring from his affection for the people, culture and architecture of the Canadian West.
His books include: Borrowed Time, Saskatchewan Book, Alberta Book, Badlands, Prairie Gothic, In this Place, Last Call, People of The Blood, A World Within and Requiem.
George’s photographs reside in many Canadian and international museum collections including: The National Archives of Canada, Glenbow Museum, The Art Gallery of Alberta, The Australian National Gallery, Museum Ludwig (Germany) and The Bibliothèque Nationale (France). In 1999 he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in recognition of his contributions to the visual arts in Canada. He has twice been awarded the National Magazine Gold Award for Photojournalism.
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Jasmine Piper is an artist and arts administrator based in Mohkinsstsis (also known as Calgary), with family ties spanning across the prairies—from Cold Lake First Nations to Peace River County. For the past five years she has been working with Artist-Run Centres and artist-led initiatives to lead and support artistic programming including events and exhibitions. Piper aspires to find ways to sharpen her skills as a drum maker, fisherwoman and bead artist. Her practice includes researching decolonization, laughing with friends and exploring reconnection to her Nehiyaw, Métis and Denesuline ancestors by connecting with the supernatural. Aliens, magic and medicine are common themes played with throughout her work.
This artistic practice is intertwined with a passion for supporting fellow artists, community members and arts organizers by collaborating with them to create equitable programming and opportunities.
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Lexi (Lex) Hilderman, a trans-non-binary interdisciplinary artist and settler to Mohkinstsis Treaty 7 Territory otherwise known as Calgary, Alberta. Weaving together traditional techniques in printmaking, sculpture, photography, written word, installation, and performance, their work explores themes of identity, sentimentality, and orientation, queering pathways forward. They hold a BFA in Sculpture with a minor in Social Practice and Community Engagement from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and a BA in Sociology from the University of Calgary. They have exhibited with Stride Gallery, the Fem Assembly, Calgary Animated Objects Society, Arts Commons, and participated in residencies such as the Agua Viva Water Residency at Santa Rosa Art and Healing, and a Studio Residency at Stride Gallery.
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Shauna Thompson is currently Curator at Esker Foundation, Calgary. She has supported solo projects and exhibitions with many local, national, and international artists, including Oliver Beer, Babak Golkar, Mel O’Callaghan, Ragnar Kjartansson, Fin Simonetti, and Katie Ohe, among many others. She is co-curator of the exhibition 'Like everything alive that we try to hold forever' (currently touring with Independent Curators International) which features the work of Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Diane Borsato, Stephanie Dinkins, Bridget Moser, Sondra Perry, and Miya Turnbull.
Prior to joining Esker Foundation, Thompson was the Curatorial Assistant at the Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre. She has also worked with the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (now the Art Museum at the University of Toronto) and YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Toronto, as well as the Art Gallery of Mississauga. Thompson holds master's degrees in Curatorial Studies from the University of Toronto and in English from the University of Guelph.
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Will Warasila is an American photographer focused on long-term documentary projects concerning toxicity, the environment, and slow violence. His photographs have appeared in The New York Times, the New Yorker, and TIME MAGAZINE, among many other publications. In 2022, Gnomic Book published his first monograph Quicker than Coal Ash.
Will also runs a photo space in Livingston called Strata Editions.
And more to come!