the 2020 emerging photographers showcase - now closed

EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT WORK TO AN OPEN THEME EXHIBITION HOSTED BY THE EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL IN CALGARY, ALBERTA. SELECTED WORK WILL BE EXHIBITED DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IN 2020.

The Exposure Photography Festival 2020 Emerging Photographers Showcase Open Call is now open for submissions. Photographers will be selected to participate in next year’s festival, and accepted work will be shown in a feature exhibition hosted by Exposure Photography Festival in Calgary, Alberta. 
We are delighted to announce the Exposure Photography Festival 2020 Emerging Photographers Showcase Open Call Juror is Joanne Marion (Director/Curator of Exhibitions and Collections of Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre).
Diverse submissions from artists and photographers practising in photo based (2D) work are welcomed. To qualify for the Emerging Photographers Showcase you must reside in Alberta. Emerging Artists are defined as those, of any age, who have mastered the basic techniques of their art form through education or apprenticeship and are in the early years of launching a professional career.

Deadline: October 20th 2019 5pm (Calgary/MST)

All applicants will receive:

The opportunity to be featured on the Exposure Photography Festival curated Instagram account as examples of strong applications and to promote the open call.
Visibility with the 2020 Juror, award selection committees and Exposure team.

All successful applicants will:

Exhibit their work in the Exposure Festival group exhibition as part of the 2020 programme.
Have their selected exhibition work printed and framed and free of charge by our Exhibition Presenting Sponsor, Resolve Photo.
Receive an artist fee of $115 CAD (in accordance with CARFAC guidelines)
Be featured (name and website link) on the Exposure Photography Festival website reaching audiences worldwide.

Exposure Awards

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to be selected for one of the following awards:
Exposure 2020 Emerging Photographer of the Year Award (First Prize)
Recipient will be awarded a solo show at Exposure 2021
Exposure Festival’s Emerging Photographers Showcase Award
Recipient will be awarded a free portfolio review day and the opportunity to take over the @exposurephotofestival Instagram as a week-long online residency.
GRAIN Emerging Photographer Award
Recipient will be awarded an online portfolio review with GRAIN (UK) who will offer support and advice on how to develop their professional practice.
GRAIN delivers activities in collaboration with national and international partners to support and grow photography opportunities in order to support artists and develop opportunities for audiences and participants.

TREX Emerging Photographer Showcase Award
TREX will select Photographers to work with on a travelling exhibition that will take place from August 2020 to August 2022. The exhibition will consist of the selected photographers' work and will travel to twenty locations throughout Alberta. Participating artists will be compensated with CARFAC fees and there will be opportunities to deliver artist talks and workshops to accompany the exhibition’s programme.
The TREX program is financially supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Its mandate is to ensure every Albertan is provided with an opportunity to enjoy fully developed exhibitions in schools, libraries, health care centres, and smaller rural institutions and galleries throughout the province. For more information see HERE

Here’s what you need to do:

Submit a series of photographs that best defines your unique style, vision and point of view, along with a written statement about the images. The series must be a substantial, interconnected body of work, including a minimum of 10 images and a maximum of 15.

Submission Deadline: October 20th, 2019 5pm (Calgary/MST)
Notification: November 15th, 2019
Fee: $35 for 10 images; additional images may be submitted for $5 each, up to 15 total.

2020 Emerging Photographers Showcase Juror

Joanne Marion is the Director/Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat, AB. Joanne has curated over 100 exhibitions of Canadian art over the past 20 years in all media, including photography. She has produced and contributed essays to numerous exhibition publications. Joanne holds an MFA in Fine Art from the University of Guelph, with a BFA and BA (Honours) in Film Studies from Queen’s University.

THE FINE PRINT—RULES AND REGULATIONS

Am I an Emerging Artist?
Many definitions of “emerging artist” exist. We are guided by the definition used by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation:

Emerging Artists are defined as those, of any age, who have mastered the basic techniques of their art form through education or apprenticeship and are in the early years of launching a professional career. Emerging artists have created and publicly presented a modest body of independent work and are ready for the next steps in their artistic development.

How should I submit my work?
Each image file can be a maximum of 5MB in size. All images must be submitted as JPEGs—any files submitted in any other format (including TIFF, PDF, PSD, etc.) will not be reviewed. The file name of your image must include your last name and correspond directly with the title of the work. For example:

Artist name: John Smith
Title of work: Balloon Dog
Image filename: smith_balloondog.jpeg

If you submit a series for which all images have the same title, each image file should be numbered. Your image file name would look like this:

Title of work: Balloon Dog 1
Image filename: smith_balloondog1.jpeg

Images can be shot in any format, using any camera, on film or digital whilst photo-based works such as photocollage are also accepted for review. However if you would like to submit a 3D piece please contact bethanyexposure@outlook.com to see if your work can be physically and logistically exhibited. There are no restrictions on when the submitted images were made.

Please note that submissions that fail to follow these instructions will not be reviewed.

 What is an Applicant Bio?
This is where you get to tell us about yourself as a photographer. Are you a student who enjoys capturing the mundane aspects of life and turning them into something beautiful? Are you a self-taught photographer who documents the lives of others? While this isn’t the space for you to delve into your practice, this should provide us with a little bit of information about you. You can also briefly describe your career as a photographer thus far. We’re interested in learning about YOU.

What is a Statement About the Work? 
Submissions must include a statement about the work, approximately 250 words. This is your opportunity to introduce us to your work. What ideas are you exploring? What's your approach? What is the concept motivating your work? What do you want to show through your work? Share what you want us to know about the work you do.

What are the next steps if I am selected as an exhibitor?
The juror will select at least one photograph representing each finalist’s submission. Instructions for the submission of high-resolution files for printing will be included in the acceptance notification sent by email. Exposure reserves the right to decline work that, in the juror's judgement, does not match the online image submission.
Selected exhibitors will be sent instructions to organise the printing and framing of their work with Exposure’s Exhibition Presenting Sponsor Resolve Photo. This service is free of charge for those selected for Exposure Festival’s Emerging Photographers Showcase. Resolve Photo are master printers who produce exquisite fine art prints on a wide range of papers. Emerging Photographers Showcase exhibitors may keep their exhibition prints, courtesy of Resolve Photo.

How will my photographs be used?
Digital files of the selected applicant’s work will be used for press and publicity purposes and will be potentially featured on the Exposure Festival website and related newsletters. A selection of images from the Emerging Photographers Showcase (from applicants both successful and unsuccessful) will be displayed and promoted on the Exposure Photography Festival social media and newsletters.

Exposure reserves the right to display, reproduce and publish in any media, any entry, without payment, for the sole purpose of the Exposure Photography Festival–this year and in future–and its promotion and publicity. No copyright is transferred to the Festival in respect of any works entered or accepted. Each entrant will be deemed to warrant they own the entire copyright for the work or that they have permission from the licensee and/or copyright owner(s) for the uses. All relevant clearances and/or model releases must have been obtained for the use of the photographs for publication and exhibition.

For more information and questions please send us an email.

"Emerging photographers are special. They are actively exploring the world and establishing their own visions and voices. While they may often build on the contributions of masters who have gone before, they also bring a freshness of expression and an enthusiasm that makes them a joy to work with. Supporting early career photographers has always been a priority for Resolve Photo. The challenges they face are multifaceted, from refining their vision to the point of producing finished works, to balancing concept with the constraints of physical materials and budget, to carving time away from everyday responsibilities in order to produce a body of work. As sponsors of the Emerging Photographers Showcase, Resolve Photo will cover the expenses of printing, mounting, and framing the work accepted for the exhibition. In addition, each photographer will keep his or her mounted photographs after the exhibition ends. Good luck with your submissions, and we look forward to working with you!"

~Costas Costoulas, Founder, Resolve Photo