Every year, about a hundred local artists display their work, in individual and group exhibits, and in juried competitions. The SPARK Photo Festival is unique in mounting Open Call exhibits that are open to photographers of all skill levels from students to passionate enthusiasts to seasoned professionals. SPARK prides itself on creating collaborations between artists, social enterprises, businesses, schools and volunteers. We feel these relationships are key to building a strong and inclusive community.  

Along with the Open Call Exhibits, SPARK Exhibits include our cornerstone Showcase and Juried Exhibits. This year the Showcase Exhibit will highlight outstanding themed juried photographs selected from the thousands that have been submitted over the ten-year history of the festival. It is a chance to see all the photos that won the top awards — the few that were singled out from each year’s entries and deemed as the best. That Showcase exhibit will be on display at the YMCA Balsillie Family Branch in Peterborough.

Our Juried Exhibit for 2023 explores the theme of “Water”. A panel of photography professionals have selected the 25 images to be honoured from hundreds of entries from photographers across Ontario. Those images will be printed and shown at Chasing the Cheese in Peterborough through the month of April. The photographs judged the very best of those 25 will be celebrated at the opening of the festival with awards and cash prizes.

For the 2023 SPARK Festival, we are launching an exciting initiative, the Emerging Artists Exhibit program. At a time when more photos than ever are being taken, particularly on social media, few are actually printed, organized and put up for public viewing. SPARK has created a program to help enable first-time exhibitors learn the basics of creating an exhibit, from concept to finished work on the wall. Their exhibit, Light the SPARK: Emerging Artists Exhivit, will be on display in the Peterborough Public Library through the month of April. We think this program will enable some exciting new local photographers to join the ranks of our exhibitors for the future.

It all starts on April 1st!

We would love for you to be part of the SPARK Photo Festival. The full listing of the 2023 Exhibits, with samples of photos and an interactive map, are available on the SPARK website, and on the free mobile app, Toureka!  Print brochures will be available at each exhibit venue as of April 1st.  And if you want to mount an exhibit yourself in 2024, we’d love to have you. Our Exhibit Registration typically opens in October and we’ll be launching a new Themed Juried Exhibit competition then as well. Sign up for our newsletter , visit sparkphotofestival.org, and follow us on social SPARK Photo Festival on Facebook and @sparkphotofestival on Instagram.

SPARK Photo Festival is an Incorporated Not-for-Profit governed by a Volunteer Board and paid Festival Director. We truly appreciate the support of our Corporate and Private Sponsors and Patrons and the City of Peterborough Investment Grant. Contact us at info@sparkphotofestival.org.