The Sisters of the Road tour U.S. tour is underway.
The big, yellow truck is driving across the country hauling a unique type of freight: an art gallery. Hanging from the walls of the Powerloop trailer are metal prints of photographs taken by artist Anne Marie Michel. They’re part of her collection titled, Sisters of the Road, which spotlights 40 trucker women and the landscapes they travel. Michel debuted the series in London in 2019, and has since showcased it in places like Berlin and Sydney.
Behind the wheel is Deb Desiderato—who is featured in the series and better known in the industry as Debbie Dingo. The truck will make four stops across the country. At each, Desiderato, Michel, and the rest of the SOTR team will open up the trailer doors and invite everyone to view the exhibit.
The truck is currently en route to Fotofest in Houston, TX and will arrive there on March 8. Follow along on Instagram @sistersoftheroadtour for daily updates, and check back here for the latest coverage of the stops along the tour.
March 1, 2024: The #SistersoftheRoadTour Launch Event
The Sisters of the Road kicked off on March 1 in time with the start of International Women’s Month and in view of a feminist icon—the SS Red Oak Victory. The WWII ship was built in 1944, primarily by women, and is part of the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Park.
In addition to a gallery walkthrough, remarks from the artist Anne Marie, and a champagne toast, the tour invited SS Red Oak Victory shipkeeper Desiree Heveroh to help kick off the tour. She shared some of the history of the women workers on the ship and saluted female truckers who are, in many ways, modern-day counterparts to the WWII-era riveters.
“It was less than 100 years ago that women were invited into the workforce,” Heveroh said, “And we have grown leaps and bounds. I’m sure 50 years ago it wouldn’t have been conceivable that women truckers could be in the industry—and as I understand it today still only make up 7% of that industry. So those women have true grit and gumption just like the women before them.”
Check out the @sistersoftheroadtour Instagram page for more highlights from the event.
More About the #SistersoftheRoadTour
This Sisters of the Road U.S. tour is a special one because it’s the first time these images will be on display “at home”—where the trucking women featured in the collection live and drive. Many of the faces are household names to those in the American industry, including Idella Hansen and Carol Nixon, both of whom have truck stops named in their honor. Each of the women Michel featured has a compelling story and resume, which are documented in her book alongside their photographs. They’re also staunch supporters and advocates for the women in trucking and logistics—a small but mighty group of women who make up, in some senses, the backbone of the freight industry.
In fact, Michel designed this tour of her work expressly to honor and celebrate this community of women. They make up just 12% of trucking industry employees, and just 7% of the labor force of truck drivers in the U.S. But their impact on trucking has been significant, helping to challenge stereotypes associated with the industry and make it more inclusive. The women in Michel’s book represent the many faces of women in trucking. The tour, timed to coincide with International Women’s Month and International Women’s Day (Friday, March 8), will bring many of these women back together as well as help connect the broader community.
“Friendships and a community has been formed here,” says Michel about Sisters of the Road. “[The women] have been with me as active participants while the project has unfolded. I have always planned to make this photographic work benefit and serve them. But they have been such a support to me in the process too—celebrating the successes with me and telling me to keep my chin up and ‘keep on truckin’’ when things didn’t quite go to plan.”
Metal prints of Michel’s photography hang inside the trailer, set to music from Long Haul Paul. Women from the book will be in attendance at each stop to answer questions and participate in light programming. For example, FotoFest will feature a “Touch a Truck” session to teach gallery viewers about safety on the road. In Little Rock, Michel will lead a rededication ceremony of the truck stop to honor Idella Hansen.
Sisters of the Road and Uber Freight
The Sisters of the Road trailer itself is a Powerloop trailer, provided by Uber Freight’s Powerloop team. Powerloop is an innovative take on the trailer pool model, designed to lower the barrier to entry by creating a common pool of trailers for carriers to access. Using Powerloop, carriers can find backhauls more easily and spend less time waiting and log fewer deadhead miles.
Our Uber Freight team is also supporting the background logistics of the tour. We’re helping Debbie Dingo find loads to bring from her hometown on the East Coast to the starting line in San Francisco. We’re also helping the women convoying with Debbie at different points along her route find loads as well.
We hope to see you at MATS for the tour’s conclusion March 21-23. To track the Sisters of the Road truck as it makes its way across the country, and to join us in our celebration of women in the logistics industry, follow @sistersoftheroadtour on Instagram and the hashtag #sistersoftheroadtour across platforms.
