Release Issued by Mencap:

An intimate insight into the lives of people with a learning disability - 9 June – 14 August 2006

UPDATE: We have been notified that the opening date has been changed from 3rd June to the 9th June.

A new collection of personal photographs and stories offers an intimate insight into the lives of people with a learning disability. Mencap’s Snap! goes on display at the V&A* from 9 June until 14 August.

The Snap! display features over 40 of the best photographs and stories by and of people with a learning disability selected from nearly 1000 entries. This is the fourth year Mencap has run Snap! and this year’s display coincides with Learning Disability Week (18-25June) and Mencap’s 60 years of achievement.

While many of the photographs capture universal experiences such as love, work and happiness, others show the struggles many people with a learning disability still face in their everyday lives.

Jo Williams, Mencap’s chief executive said: “The quality of entries to this year’s Snap! competition was incredible. The display at the V&A will open people’s eyes to the world of learning disability. It highlights people’s talents and helps to dispel prejudice and break down stereotypes. If you can’t go and see the exhibition in London, I urge you to have a look at the pictures and stories on Mencap’s website.”

The winning entries were chosen by a panel of judges including press photographer Eamonn McCabe and portrait and fashion photographer John Swannell along with curators of the V&A and The Photographer’s Gallery.

Snap! is sponsored by The Sorrell Foundation and supported by Fujifilm. For more information visit www.mencap.org.uk/snap

*The V&A is also known as the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is located on Cromwell Road in London www.vam.ac.uk