One hundred disposable cameras will be given to people affected by homelessness by Cafe Art and The Royal Photographic Society (The RPS) at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday 1 July. The project is a social enterprise to empower people affected by homelessness and results in an exhibition and calendar, which will be sold in markets by the photographers. Who is involved: 100 homeless and recently homeless people from homelessness organisations from all over London. MyLondon is run by Café Art, an independent social enterprise which connects people affected by homelessness to the wider community through art. The project, which attracted international attention to London last year, empowers people affected by homelessness and results in an exhibition and calendar which will be sold in markets by the photographers. To the surprise of judges, the images captured in this annual event which has a theme of ‘My London’ are mostly positive, says Paul Ryan, director of Cafe Art: "People who have experienced homelessness might be expected to just take photos of how tough it is to survive without a roof over your head. What we have found is that the participants really capture the positive parts of the city. Every year the images have been a love letter to London and this year we expect it to be the same."
Last year the project gained international attention. This year another 100 cameras will be handed out on 1 July.
On Friday 1 July the participants will receive a quick reminder about how to use the camera, having received training in June, then they will sign out their own specially numbered camera. Last year's People's Choice winner David Tovey says: "I found it to be a life changing experience entering the my London competition. Its helped propel me into a larger art audience than I could have ever imagined. It truly helped change my life." My London schedule: The participants have five days and must return the cameras on Wednesday 6 July. Everyone who returns a camera will choose five photos for an exhibition. The choosing of the exhibition will also be held at St Paul's on 20 July. The exhibition is in Spitalfields Arts Market from 1 - 7 August. During the exhibition the public will vote on the top 20 photos and help choose the 2017 Cafe Art My London calendar. The My London calendar will be launched on World Homelessness Day, 10 October 2016. This is last year's MyLondon video: