The appearance of photography as an art form in our region dates back to the middle of the XIX century. In the second half of the XIX century, photographers already offered to purchase albums with views of Siberian cities. Although the masters had the opportunity to demonstrate their works, for a long time photography was exhibited at exhibitions along with painting. For example, Konstantin Nikolayevich Vysotsky at a public exhibition in Tyumen in 1871 showed his pictures in the section "Artwork, drawings, photographs". In 1895, an agricultural exhibition was held in Kurgan. The diploma and the silver medal on it for the exhibited pictures of foreigners were received by the forester A.A. Dunin-Gorkavich.
The appearance of the first photographic exhibitions in Russia dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1910, the magazine "Photographic News" announced a contest of amateur photographs and encouraged readers to participate in it. The photos sent to the contest made up the main part of the exposition of the first exhibition organized by the magazine. The exhibition ran from February 19 to March 6, 1911 in the premises of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. The participants clearly proved how high the level at which the works of Russian amateur photographers are located. More than five hundred works were presented to the public.
Back in 1918, an art school-studio was organized in Tyumen. By 1920, 150 people were engaged in this studio. Art exhibitions brought a noticeable revival to the life of Tyumen. From 1920 to 1930 they were held annually. Photographers were very often exhibited together with artists.
In 1965, the first regional exhibition was organized. In 1966, the second regional photo exhibition was held in Tyumen, which was visited by 25,000 people! The fifth exhibition in 1972 was visited by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin. 300 works by 49 authors were exhibited. A total of 13 exhibitions were held until the early 1900s. Photo clubs appeared – Tyumen, Tobol, Samotlor, etc. Many people have won prestigious awards and grand Prix of international and All-Union competitions.