National Rail announces pop-up art exhibition to encourage travel without boundaries
A pop-up exhibition is launching at London’s Kings Cross to showcase inspirational train journeys taken by artists that have a wide range of abilities, disabilities, age and artistic experience.
The art exhibition, No Boundaries, which will be open to the public on 15 August, has been designed to encourage talk and travel without boundaries.
Hundreds of creative Brits applied to be part of the exhibition. The chosen 20 artists visited destinations of their choice using a Railcard, which offers a third off rail travel throughout Britain, and created artwork based on their experiences.
Sophie Morgan, a TV presenter best known for presenting the Paralympics 2018 and Best Laid Plans, is the lead artist for the exhibition. After being paralysed from the chest down in a car crash aged 18, Sophie, now 32, is an award-winning campaigner, and was voted in the top 100 influential people with a disability for two years’ running. Sophie’s artwork, titled ‘Let’s Go’, was inspired by a trip to Brighton.
Artists range from Robyn, a 15 year old artist who creates works in biro pen, to established artist, Liz Atkin, who has been creating and handing out her sketches on trains to passengers for many years as a way of managing a skin picking disease called Dermatillomania.
To help divert her anxiety when she travels, Liz creates artwork on discarded newspapers which she hands out to curious passengers. To date she has given away more than 16,000 drawings from London, New York, Singapore and San Francisco. Liz is taking part in the exhibition to raise awareness of mental health, and has created a charcoal piece inspired by her trip to Wool, Dorset to draw at Lulworth Cove.
National Rail has also teamed up with Guide Dogs, Scope, National Autistic Society, Royal Association for Deaf people, Stroke Association and Whizz Kidz to host the exhibition.
Jyoti Bird, National Rail’s Marketing Director, explains:
“One of the railway’s key commitments is to help more people take advantage of all of the opportunities that travelling by train opens up. We have teamed up with some great charities to generate awareness of the support that is available for disabled people and their friends and families. Through this exhibition we’re aiming to inspire people to travel, talk and support each other without boundaries.”
Through the exhibition British Rail hopes to inspire people to travel, talk and support each other without boundaries. Recognising that not all disabilities are visible and there are still too many people who feel that they need to disguise their disability or perhaps avoid talking to disabled people because they’re worried they’ll say the wrong thing.
The rail industry has been working to tackle the challenges passengers face when travelling by train, and improving their overall experience by embracing new technologies and ensuring staff can provide the best possible service for everyone.
The launch of this exhibition coincides with:
The launch of the Digital Disabled Persons Railcard, which is hosted on a mobile phone and provides 1/3 off rail travel for the Railcard holder and their companion for just £20 a year. With a digital Railcard you can start saving straight away, without having to wait for the post.
The piloting of a universal ramp that will make it safer and easier for disabled passengers to board, as well as for staff to use. A number of industry members will be trialling the ramp later this summer.
Unbooked assistance which gives passengers more flexibility, so they’re able to travel at their convenience.
Trial of a new digital Passenger Assist solution which will help make requesting travel assistance quicker, easier and has the potential for future innovation.
Mobile tickets, which allows you to buy a ticket before arriving at the station so you can board a train without having to queue. There are currently ticket gates at 98 stations with a further 79 stations receiving upgrades by the end of the year.
The exhibition will be at London Kings Cross station until 15 September before travelling to Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick and Edinburgh.
THE 'NO BOUNDARIES' EXHIBITION TOUR
Kings Cross: 15th – 21st August
Birmingham New Street: 24th August – 15th September
Cardiff: 17th September – 6th October
Gatwick: 8th – 28th October
Edinburgh: 30th October – 28th November
For more information about the exhibition,
please visit the National Rail website here
