Invalid Carriage Register and project team

Dr Simon Mckeown is an artist, researcher and educator with the Mima School of Art and Design at Teesside University. He grew up as a young child near his grandfather, who used the vehicles, which led to his passion and research in this area. He is also a prolific collector of invalid carriages seeking to uncover heritage, history and new learning. He continues to build the profile of these UK vehicles while planning, directing and undertaking ICR activities.

Darkes passion of disability activism really started when he began my PhD in Disability and Film and read Mike Oliver’s seminal work: The Politics of Disablement. Once the PhD started he realised the significance of popular culture in the process of demeaning disabled people; thus his initial aims (and still primary aim) was to fundamentally change the way society sees disabled people through culture (popular culture in particular). The preservation of invalid carriage history, artifacts and ephemera are thus vital.

Experienced Studio Director with a demonstrated history of working in Participatory and Community Arts projects. Kathryn was also employed as a graduate for three months as part of the Heritage Fund project. Skilled in Fine Art, Mentoring, Networking and Funding with a background in Business Finance, Banking and Customer Service. Kathryn's volunteer role has been central to the success of the project.

Dez Roth joined the ICR as a volunteer in 2019. Based in London, Dez supports the ICR's ongoing research and record keeping. He undertakes novel research for the ICR and well as vehicle accreditation which can be very tricky to undertake. Each year the ICR receives many emails and contacts, and keeping track of the communications and data generated is difficult. To help solve these issues, we are growing the team, and the ICR welcomes Dez on board as our Research Associate.