Xposure - Photography Festival 2027

About

Xposure has grown remarkably fast since it launched in Sharjah in 2016. What started as a regional photography event has become one of the most talked-about visual arts festivals on the international calendar, drawing participants from well over 136 countries and fielding tens of thousands of award entries each year. The 2027 edition runs for seven days across the Aljada development in Sharjah and welcomes Athens as its Guest of Honour, with a curated selection of galleries produced in collaboration with Athens Photo World.

The festival is built around the idea that visual storytelling deserves a stage that goes beyond gallery walls, and the programming reflects that ambition. There are exhibitions featuring large-format photography from highly acclaimed and emerging photographers alike, film screenings, portfolio reviews where budding photographers can get genuine critique from working professionals, workshops, panel discussions, and multiple stages running concurrent programming throughout the week. It is the kind of festival where a student photographer and a photojournalist with decades of experience can both find something genuinely worthwhile to engage with.

The International Photography and Film Awards are free to enter and carry a prize pool of over $75,000 across categories including landscape, portraiture, wildlife, architectural photography, photojournalism, drone photography, street photography, and film. That breadth of categories makes the awards accessible to a wide community rather than just specialists in one discipline, and the independent jury panel brings credibility to the selection process. A Junior Photography Award and a dedicated Sharjah Government Photography category add further layers to the competition.

There is also a trade show element running alongside the festival, where photography equipment brands and suppliers connect with a large and engaged audience of enthusiasts and professionals, rounding out what is already a very well-constructed week.