McQueen explores century of protest photography

Sir Steve McQueen has curated the exhibition and written the accompanying book to show how protest has shaped Britain

Oscar-winning director Sir Steve McQueen said protest is "especially urgent in today's political climate" as he launched a photography exhibition in Kent.

Resistance, which explores Britain's history of protest and its relationship with photography, will open at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate on 22 February, with plans to tour around the UK.

The exhibition spans a century of activism captured by photographers, starting with the suffragette movement in 1903 and ending with the country's largest ever protest, when 1.5 million people marched against the Iraq War in 2003.

It also includes the "forgotten stories of individuals whose actions have helped define Britain's history", said the gallery.

Andrew Wiard, Demonstration against the imminent invasion of Iraq by Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain, 15 February 2003

Anti-racists gather to block route of National Front demonstration, New Cross Road, London, August 1977

Pam Isherwood, Stop Clause 28 march, Whitehall, London, 9 January 1988

Unknown photographer, Annie Kenney (an Oldham cotton mill worker), arrested in London, April 1913

Henry Grant, anti-nuclear protesters marching to Aldermaston, Berkshire, May 1958

The exhibition includes iconic works by renowned photographers alongside lesser-known artists who documented powerful stories on Britain's streets.

It will be accompanied by a book including a selection of the images, first-hand accounts from witnesses and expert analysis on the relevance of these stories today.

McQueen said: "This exhibition and book explores how people have challenged the status quo - a mission that feels especially urgent in today's political climate."