Sharjah’s Xposure 2026 festival begins today, launches new ‘Hadara Stage’

As part of its 10th anniversary edition, the Xposure International Photography Festival (Xposure 2026) has introduced a brand new space to deepen global dialogue – the Hadara Stage. Alongside an expanded Stage X, this new platform will host a vibrant programme that includes more than 126 talks, dialogues, and discussion sessions that will be led by global leaders and experts in photography and film.

Xposure 2026 will take place from 29 January to 4 February in Aljada, Sharjah.

Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), the 7-day event will also provide various spaces for hands-on training focused on skills development and career progression in visual storytelling.

With 72 workshops and over 280 portfolio review sessions, Xposure 2026 will continue the festival's decade-long journey of driving professional as well as creative growth.

Global conversations on migration, freedom and trust on Stage X

Celebrating Athens as Guest of Honour at Xposure 2026, a panel titled Stories of Migration, Culture and Humanity, featuring Christina Kalligianni of Athens Photo World, alongside renowned photographers Maro Kouri, Antonios Pasvantis, and Dimitris Tosidis, will explore photography as a bridge between Greece, the Middle East, and the wider international community.

How Freedom Survives in Afghanistan led by photojournalist Kiana Hayeri will draw on her field experiences documenting the lives of women to offer a deeply human perspective on how photography can preserve memory. The talk will also cover how to adhere to ethical documentation practices, including consent, context, and safety considerations.

How to Build Trust in Difficult Places features photographer Tomasz Tomaszewski, who will discuss how patience, presence and responsibility help build trust and secure consent while working in sensitive environments where cameras are often unwelcome.

Hadara Stage will make its Xposure debut with powerful cross-border dialogues

The role of stories and images in fostering empathy and dialogue across cultural and geographic boundaries will be spotlighted during Harnessing Soft Power, which will be led by industry leaders including Glenn Gainor, Head of Production for Amazon Original Films and CEO of Hollywood Ventures Group; Odessa Rae, Academy Award and BAFTA-winning producer and co-founder of Ivanhoe Pictures; and Ayten Mirzoyeva, partner at Vasconi Architects International.

Another Hadara Stage highlight is Exposing the Trade Secret: A Conservation Paradox, which will follow the screening of the film, The Trade Secret. Director Abraham Joffe and investigative journalist Adam Cruise will delve into the practical realities of investigative wildlife filmmaking, including risk management, fact-checking, source protection and the ethical constraints shaping documentary production.

Workshops and portfolio reviews

Xposure 2026 includes 72 workshops aimed at photographers at different stages of practice. The sessions focus on how images are developed in real working conditions, from forming an idea to making decisions around light, colour, composition and editing. Workshops cover a range of practices, including street, documentary, landscape and cinematic photography.

Street photographer Vineet Vohra will lead The Theatre of the Ordinary, a practical session on recognising and shaping everyday street scenes into strong images.

The workshop introduces core principles such as reading light, timing and composition, followed by a guided photo walk where participants apply these ideas on location.

Landscape photographer Mohammad Anabtawi will lead Landscape Photography: Vision and Technique, focusing on how to build clear, expressive landscape images while balancing creative intent with technical control in the field.

Alongside the workshops, portfolio reviews form a key part of the programme. These one-to-one sessions connect participants directly with photo editors, curators and industry professionals, offering focused feedback to help photographers refine projects, strengthen coherence and identify next steps in their work.

The international review panel includes Aidan Sullivan, CEO and founder of Verbatim Photo – Visual; Claire Harbage of NPR; Pulitzer Prize winner Essdras M. Suarez; Industry experts Gilles Cargueray and Frank Meo. Additional reviewers include the Photojournalist with Getty Images Giles Clarke; Dr. Ioannis Galanopoulos Papavasileiou; Kathy Moran, former senior editor at National Geographic; Lars Boering, founder of Triggertale.com; two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Mohammed Muheisen; Samantha Clark, Managing Photo Editor at National Geographic; Interdisciplinary specialist Dr. Wiktoria Michałkiewicz and Dr. Yannis Kontos, documentary photographer and Assistant Professor at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU).