The shortlist for street photography exhibition MyTown has been revealed. Seagulls, greasy spoons cafes, and Notting Hill Carnival all appear in the shortlist, which captures the eccentricities of street life across the UK.
Clear Channel, the outdoor media company behind the exhibition, will display the chosen images on their 3000 digital screens in public spaces across the UK. They will also host a pop up exhibition in London on 5 December 2018, where they will announce the winner. As well as the invaluable exposure of a nationwide exhibition, the winner will receive a X100F, Fujifilm’s premium compact camera, and a UK city break of their choosing.
MyTown’s mission is to capture the diversity of street life across the UK, as can be seen in the wonderfully varied shortlist. The chosen images feature recognisable and quirky scenes in towns and cities across the UK, including Newcastle, Notting Hill, Brighton and Blackpool.
This year, the competition welcomed thousands of entries from both established and emerging photographers, almost tripling the submissions to its first edition in 2017. The judges – renowned street photographers Dougie Wallace, Ronya Galka and Linda Wisdom – have narrowed the images down to a shortlist of the 12 most arresting images.
Clear Channel CEO Justin Cochrane says, “I’m blown away by the sheer quality, as well as quantity, for this year’s MyTown. I’m proud that out digital network is being used to exhibit incredible creativity and true diversity of our country,” while returning judge Dougie Wallace – himself an award-winning street photographer – says “each [image] provoked discussion and debate about what it means to be British today.”
The MyTown 2018 shortlist:
