In a major win for the campaign against oil sponsorship, the long-running relationships between oil and gas giant Shell and its neighbours the Southbank Centre and the British Film Institute (BFI) are to come to an end this year. Both institutions have confirmed to the Guardian that their existing corporate memberships with the company will … Continue reading Shell’s long-running relationships with Southbank Centre and BFI to end this year
A Syrian refugee and a theatre director whose work features in the British Museum’s upcoming BP sponsored Troy exhibition have written to the museum calling on it to sever its ties with oil giant BP. The letter speaks of the ‘devastating blow’ of discovering their work would be part of an exhibition branded by the … Continue reading BP sponsorship criticised by artists in British Museum’s new Troy exhibition
This morning, the National Galleries of Scotland have announced that after 2019 it will no longer host the BP Portrait Award because of the prize's oil sponsorship: "At the National Galleries of Scotland we recognise that we have a responsibility to do all we can to address the climate emergency. For many people, the association … Continue reading National Galleries of Scotland to stop hosting BP Portrait Award over climate concerns
This morning, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran announced that the theatre company would end its partnership with oil giant BP this year, several years before the sponsorship deal was due to elapse. The news comes just a week after young people and school strikers pledged to boycott the RSC if it … Continue reading RSC draws an early curtain on BP sponsorship deal
Artists who removed a third of the work from the Design Museum’s ‘Hope to Nope’ exhibition, then redisplayed it for free, release statement on 1 year anniversary The Nope to Arms Collective, which includes Shepard Fairey, Milton Glaser and Peter Kennard, criticise museum’s lack of action on a promised review of fundraising policies Glaser says … Continue reading Artists take on Design Museum’s inaction after arms event
Last week the British Museum's chair spouted a series of 'alternative facts' straight from BP's greenwash playbook on BBC radio. We felt they needed some serious fact-checking, so our Co-Director Jess Worth obliged with this piece for DeSmog UK.
Following the recent resignation of Ahdaf Soueif from the British Museum’s Board of Trustees, workers at the Museum have issued a statement of solidarity with Ms Soueif last night. Members of the PCS union Culture Group condemned the “troubling nature of the relationship between BP and the arts” and stated that: “through its sponsorship of … Continue reading British Museum staff support trustee who resigned over BP
78 leading artists - including Turner Prize and BP Portrait Award winners - call for end to BP sponsorship at National Portrait Gallery Letter calls on Gallery director to ‘remove the BP representative from judging panel’ Intervention follows Mark Rylance’s resignation from RSC over BP sponsorship View the letter text and list of 78 signatories … Continue reading Leading artists escalate pressure on Portrait Gallery to drop BP
Oscar-winning actor reveals story of his frustrated attempts to persuade the theatre company to sever ties with the oil giant Rylance says RSC must listen to the young people who have been going on strike from school to persuade adults to act on the climate emergency He calls for an ‘artistic intervention’ and encourages his … Continue reading Mark Rylance quits RSC over BP sponsorship
An abridged version of this article by Mark Rylance appears in the Guardian, along with this news story. 'BP or not BP? That is the question' An RSC Hamlet questions the state of Denmark Do you remember being told as a child not to accept gifts from strangers? Strangers are not necessarily friends. Shakespeare uses … Continue reading Mark Rylance: why I’m resigning from the RSC
Culture Unstained 