February Exhibitions
Check out new visual art exhibitions in Calgary this February — from photography-driven shows, to intimate material-based practices. Each month, we spotlight a new or timely exhibition in the city, followed by a roundup of others you can explore.
Exposure Photography Festival
Held annually in February, the Exposure Photography Festival is a month-long celebration of photography across Alberta. This year’s festival features work by more than 250 artists across over 30 venues, highlighting both emerging voices and established practices.
The festival’s core exhibitions are on view at Contemporary Calgary from February 5 to March 5 and include The North West Showcase, spotlighting emerging photographers from Western Canada and the territories. The International Open Call celebrates diverse points of view from around the world, reminding us of photography’s capacity to close the gap between self and others, alongside Lana Collins’ All My Sisters, a tender love letter to sisterhood in its many forms.
Also on view are NEXTDOOR, a cross-border exhibition examining cultural proximity and difference between Canada and the United States, and Here, Together, a series of public presentations that brings together 12 Treaty 7 artists exploring how they belong, find home and build relationships with this place.
(Exhibition info adapted from Contemporary Calgary)
More February exhibitions:
Valentine’s Group Show: RED
January 31 – February 25, 2026 | Reception February 7, 2 – 5pm
Wallace Galleries (500 5 Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Discover a thoughtfully curated selection of artworks perfect for collectors and art lovers alike, featuring rare finds and works by a wide range of gallery artists. From painting to sculpture, this exhibition offers something special for every taste.
wallacegalleries.com
Light, Trace, Time
January 31 – February 25, 2026
Herringer Kiss Gallery (101, 1615 10 Ave. SW)
Free to explore
Herringer Kiss Gallery presents photography-based works by David Burdeny, Dan Hudson, Brian Flynn, Laurel Johannesson and Mitch Kern, who use the camera to connect past with present and memory with reality.
herringerkissgallery.com
Nigel Midwinter: Cryoscapes
February 3 – 28, 2026 | Reception February 6, 6:30 – 9pm
Framed on Fifth (1209 5 Ave. NW)
Free to explore
In Cryoscapes, Nigel Midwinter explores the tension between fragility and force within Alberta’s winter landscapes. Shot on the frozen surface of Abraham Lake, these black-and-white photographs transform cracked ice, pressure ridges and trapped methane bubbles into abstract forms.
framedonfifth.com
The Camera Store Staff Exhibition
February 4 – 28, 2026 | Showcase Night February 12, 5:30 – 8:30pm
4th Floor, cSPACE Marda Loop (1721 29 Ave. SW)
Free to explore
The Camera Store presents a staff photography exhibition featuring work by 15 artists, showcasing a diverse range of perspectives and practices. Part of the Exposure Photography Festival, the exhibition also includes a special showcase night celebrating photography across multiple floors.
thecamerastore.com
Building on the Bow, A Retrospective
February 5 – 28, 2026 | Reception February 6, 5 – 8pm
Christine Klassen Gallery (200, 321 50 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Revisit one of Calgary’s most significant urban photography projects through a focused selection of 15 large-scale works. Printed as archival carbon images on handmade Japanese Washi paper, the photographs are drawn from Speer’s landmark Building on the Bow publication.
christineklassengallery.com
Nickle Galleries
Yvonne Mullock: Why don’t you…
February 6 – April 30, 2026
Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary (410 University Ct. NW)
Free to explore
Yvonne Mullock’s exhibition Why don’t you… is a solo presentation that brings together multiple projects spanning more than 10 years of the artist’s practice. Beginning with printmaking and extending into textiles, video, ceramics, and bronze, Mullock crosses disciplinary boundaries to explore questions of human behaviour.
nickle.ucalgary.ca
Heather Leier: Practice Pinny
February 6 – April 30, 2026
Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary (410 University Ct. NW)
Free to explore
As a printmaker, Heather Leier is deeply attuned to the physical instincts and repeated actions that shape studio practice. Her practice pinny becomes a metaphor for this “costume of preparation,” echoing the apron worn in the print studio.
nickle.ucalgary.ca
Fred Herzog
February 6 – 28, 2026
TrépanierBaer Gallery (105, 999 8 St. SW)
Free to explore
TrepanierBaer presents a landmark exhibition of colour street photography by Fred Herzog (1930–2019), one of the medium’s true pioneers. Featuring previously unseen archival works alongside iconic images from celebrated series like Crossing Powell, Hub and Lux and Foot of Main.
trepanierbaer.com
Grinning
February 6 – March 14, 2026 | Reception February 6, 4 – 7pm
Norberg Hall (333b 36 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Norberg Hall welcomes the new year with Grinning, a two-person exhibition by Larissa Tiggelers and Emma Welch. Through repetition, mirroring and doubled forms, the works hold a grin in place — playful, tense and deliberately off-kilter.
norberghall.com
Ashes! Ashes!
February 20 – April 10, 2026 | Reception February 20, 7 – 9pm
A/P Main Gallery (460 42 Ave. SE)
Free to explore
Ashes! Ashes! is a tactile, intimate exhibition by Margaret Joba-Woodruff that uses charcoal, beeswax, paper and wool to trace memories of home, loss and repair. Through experimental printmaking techniques, the works reflect on housing precarity, shared domestic spaces and what we carry with us as we move on.
albertaprintmakers.com
For more visual arts events and exhibitions, head over to the arts and culture events section of yycwhatson.ca.
