If you’re a science museum, taking money from the fossil fuel industry – and especially a company like Shell – should be off limits by now. From its ties to climate denial to its human rights violations in the Niger Delta, and from its ongoing trial over alleged corruption to its new deepwater drilling plans, … Continue reading Pressure mounts on the Museum of Science and Industry to drop its Shell sponsorship deal
Last week, almost 40 artists, designers and activists with objects on display in the Design Museum’s 'Hope to Nope' exhibition signed a letter calling for it to remove their work from display. The reason? The previous week, while the museum hosted a panel discussion on protest, it allowed a private event for a major arms … Continue reading The Design Museum has accused artists of stifling free speech. Here’s why it’s wrong.
Today, a group of artists and organisations have sent an unprecedented public letter to the Design Museum in London, calling for their work be removed from 'Hope to Nope', the museum's headline exhibition that showcases 'how design has played a pivotal role in reacting to the major political moments of our times'. The reason? Last … Continue reading 5 things the Design Museum should have done before hosting the arms industry
A group that includes many leading climate scientists have today lodged a formal complaint with the Science Museum The museum is accused of ‘undermining its integrity as a scientific institution’ by partnering with BP, Shell and Statoil despite their continued contribution to climate change The complaint presents new evidence showing the museum knew about sponsors’ … Continue reading Scientists call out Science Museum over ties to big oil
Last night a film appeared on Twitter from James Le Lacheur who is going to play the Royal Shakespeare Company's first transgender Juliet in Redefining Juliet tomorrow, part of the RSC's current Mischief Festival. In the film, James states that they don't believe the good caused by BP funding the RSC's £5 Ticket Scheme for … Continue reading Juliet donates RSC fee in anti-BP protest
Tonight, the winner of the 2018 BP Portrait Award will be announced, an annual prize that, in recent years, has become tarnished by its Big Oil branding. Ahead of the announcement at the National Portrait Gallery, here are 7 things you might not know about why this oil-sponsored award is so controversial. 1. The award … Continue reading 7 things you should know about the BP Portrait Award
As part of Culture Unstained's ongoing investigative work, we recently uncovered new details of BP's close 'strategic relationship' with the UK government. The emails and other documents showed... How BP uses its sponsorship deals with cultural institutions - notably the British Museum - as platforms for influencing ministers and policy-makers. A letter from BP CEO … Continue reading UK’s close ‘strategic relationship’ with BP revealed
On Monday night, we guest hosted #MuseumHour, a weekly Twitter discussion for the museums sector 'to ask the unsayable and think the unthinkable'. Taking our lead from Arts Professional's recent survey on ethical sponsorship, we asked a series of related questions, including several suggested by one of AP's editors. The heated and lively debate included … Continue reading #MuseumHour takes on ethical sponsorship
After BAE Systems was forced to back out as a sponsor of the Great Exhibition of the North a little over a week ago, the debate around ethical sponsorship of arts and cultural organisations has continued to grow in momentum... Action at the Louvre Last Monday, the french art activist collective, Libérons le Louvre occupied … Continue reading From France to the UK, action and investigation on oil sponsors
Just over a week ago, controversy erupted when high-profile artists and performers began pulling out of the 'Great Exhibition of the North 2018' after they discovered that the event was being sponsored by the controversial arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. Now, as the negative publicity showed no signs of going away, BAE Systems have announced they … Continue reading 6 reasons it took artists just one week to end a BAE Systems sponsorship deal.
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