Founded in 1983 as a community photography initiative, Belfast Exposed Photography now functions as a gallery for contemporary photography with emphasis on commissioning and publication of new work. It holds a community photography archive and runs an extensive educational outreach network.

The production of socially and politically engaged work and dialogue is the driving force behind all aspects of the Belfast Exposed project. A policy of project origination and publication, the exhibition, screenings and talks programme and provision of photographic facilities and training all fuel this process.

Belfast Exposed has traditionally focused on the development and exhibition of community photography. Through training it continues to encourage local communities to use photography to record and understand their environment. It has compiled an archive of half a million images, a proportion of which are accessible online.