Resistance exhibition at self-driving awards venue highlights 20th century campaigns for clean air and accessible transport
The current lead exhibition at the Turner Contemporary art gallery in Margate, venue for The Self-Driving Industry Awards, highlights the incredible history of campaigns for cleaner and more accessible transport, among other great causes.
Curated by artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen, “Resistance” sets out to tell forgotten stories of how ordinary people fought for change between 1903 and 2003.
We Want Clean Air
For us, two of the most eye-catching images are by Henry Grant, detailing the We Want Clean Air protest and showing the grim levels of smog in central London in 1956.
Here at CARS OF THE FUTURE we’ve noticed an increasing appreciation of how connected and automated mobility (CAM) can accelerate the transition to net zero.
For example, in the cutting-edge self-driving and clean fuel technologies on show at Cenex Expo 2024.
We’re delighted to announce that we’re partnering with them once again for Cenex Expo 2025 at UTAC Proving Ground, Millbrook, in September – registration open now!
As Ian Constance, CEO of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and Zenzic, told CAM Innovators 2025: “CAM and net-zero are on different tracks which I believe will converge thanks to CAM’s potential to go beyond the vehicle, to tear up ownership models.”
We Want Accessible Transport
Another stunning shot was taken by Brenda Price, in 1989, showing members of The Campaign for Accessible Transport (CAT) trying to board a bus in Whitehall.
For our part, we’ll continue to showcase the fantastic work of organisations such as the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) in ensuring that self-driving does indeed become a “transformative technology for a lot of disabled people”.
We did, of course, present our 2024 Design Award jointly to TRL and the RiDC for their ground-breaking project to support the development of inclusive automated transport technologies and services.
See this short film, funded by the Motability Foundation, on the needs, perceptions, and challenges faced by disabled people:
Project participant, Kirsty, said: “I’ve been disabled since about 2008. My condition causes degradation of my nervous system. I use a power chair, which fits my particular needs, and I use public transport a lot.
“Access ramps need to be tested not just for one kind of wheelchair, but for a few varieties. For me, this one was absolutely fine. I could get in fairly easily because compared to most existing buses the door is wider and they’ve been generous with the aisle space. I’m quite practiced at it, though, and I could see the difficulties that others had, so it does need changes.
“Pretty much everyone will become disabled eventually. If you live long enough, you’ll get to a point where you’re going to struggle with mobility. By designing for all of us, you’re helping everybody, including your future self.
“You want either a bus driver or attendant there when you’re on your own and you’re vulnerable already. That’s my worry about completely driverless vehicles. The ideal accessible autonomous vehicle for me is one where I can turn up, press a button, and someone will come out. I can tell it where I want to go and have a stress-free journey.”
Self-Driving Industry Awards
Entries for The Self-Driving Industry Awards 2025 open at 9am UK-time on Tuesday 1 July and we look forward to welcoming the winners to Margate to enjoy what JMW Turner called ‘the loveliest’ skies in Europe.
