Who knew that the classic American concept of a drive-in movie could spark a green revolution on two wheels?
Prior to 2007, the founders of Magnificent Revolution were scattered throughout London and beyond, busy on their own artistic, engineering and ecology projects.

“Pure serendipity” brought them together, says Adam Walker, the organisation’s Creative Director. After all meeting in London, the organisation formed to create a ‘cycle-in cinema’ at the 2007 Big Chill Festival, where they branded themselves the Magnificent Revolutionary Cycling Cinema (“a bit of a mouthful”, Walker admits).
“The idea was pretty much like an American drive-in movie, but rather than people driving to the screening, people could cycle to the screening and use their bicycles to power the performance”, Walker says.

After success at the Big Chill Festival, the organisation took its show on the road, bringing the cycle-in cinema (ranging from a setup of 8-20 bikes), to venues in London and around the UK. “I think we felt that there was a lot of educational potential for the cycle-in cinema as a tool for social engagement”, he explains.

Since then, Magnificent Revolution – whose new headquarters is a refurbished shipping container on Hackney City Farm – has used cycle power to bring awareness of energy consumption and resource use to London, the UK and farther afield.
Headed by five directors, representing ecologists, eco construction workers, artists, designers and electrical engineers, the organisation is “like a melting pot of ideas”, says Walker. “Our aim”, he continues, “was to use the bicycle generators as a tool for social engagement and climate awareness, bringing together healthy living, exercising, cycling, cycling culture, ecology, design and DIY skills.”

Magnificent Revolution also hosts educational workshops to promote sustainable energy use and teach people how build their own cycle generators. “It’s a great way to bring people together and get them thinking about the relationship that they have to energy or electricity or the modern world in which we live, so it works on quite a number of levels”, says Walker.
Though successful, Magnificent Revolution has not been without its challenges during its five-year life. “The hardest thing”, says Walker, “is just keeping the momentum going and still being enthusiastic about what we’re doing.”

To combat burnout and stagnation, the group has cut back on its cycle-in cinemas, and focuses more on building relationships with communities. “We’re doing less just ‘flash in the pan’ cycle-in cinema projects and events”, Walker explains, “and it’s more about projects and working with communities to either develop kits for themselves, or start their own cycle cinemas in their local areas – passing on the knowledge that we’ve managed to build up over the years and using it to form similar groups in different places.” These diverse projects often help generate income as well, which is important as the organisation is looking to move away from grant funding (in the past, it’s received support from the Big Lottery and other sources) to become self-sustaining.

Projects the group has recently embarked upon include the Re-Cycle Workshop in 2009, which aimed to transform secondhand bicycles, appliances and other found objects for an exhibition; The Pedal Powered Home; and the Pedal Sessions, a series of video performances powered by Magnificent Revolution’s bicycle-driven generator, which aimed to align musicians and environmental awareness. And upcoming developments for Magnificent Revolution include establishing a skill-sharing workshop at their base in Hackney City Farm where people can come to teach, learn, or just have space to work on DIY projects. What’s more, the cycling-powered revolution is spreading, with the group initiating projects in Australia, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.