'Join our "Striking Back at the Empire" tour, live online on August 14th!'

From our friends at BP or not BP:

 

'Dear friends,

 

We're excited to announce our next action: a disobedient tour of the British Museum on Saturday August 14th!

 

We'll be joined by a team of amazing speakers inside the museum, making the links between objects in the museum’s collection, the history of the British Empire, the museum's BP sponsorship, and struggles for global and climate justice around the world today. 

 

By signing up for the livestream of our (completely unofficial) tour, you can help keep up the pressure on the museum to tell the truth about the British Empire, return stolen artefacts and drop BP.

 

More details below, or follow this link to register for (free) tickets. We'd also love it if you could share this tweetand this Facebook post about the tour.

 

Hope you can join us,

 

With love and solidarity,

 

BP or not BP? x

 

______________________________________________________

 

Stolen Goods Tours Presents

 

Striking Back at the Empire: an unofficial tour of the British Museum

 

A disobedient tour calling for honesty about the past, justice in the present, and a safer climate future.

 

Saturday August 14th, 2pm BST, register at stolen-goods-tour.eventbrite.co.uk

 

Join online to watch our livestreamed disobedient tour, making the links between objects in the museum’s collection, the history of the British Empire, and struggles for global and climate justice around the world today. 

 

Featuring:

 

Zita Holbourne, National Vice President of PCS Union, National co-chair of Artists' Union England, National Chair of BARAC UK (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts)

 

Mona M., Iranian visual artist and researcher

 

Onyekachi Wambu, Project Director of the Return of the Icons programme, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)

 

BP or not BP?

 

With special contributions from singer-songwriter Hellena (hellenaofficial.com) and others TBC!

 

Ancient empires. The British Empire. Oil empires. Whether it’s proudly displaying stolen artefacts, or holding a Nero exhibition sponsored by the oil giant BP, the British Museum seems keen to celebrate empires and imperialism right now. 

 

So on Saturday August 14th, a team of amazing speakers will take over key spaces in the museum to give the other side of the story in a completely unofficial “Striking Back at the Empire” tour. 

 

More details to follow soon - sign up at stolen-goods-tour.eventbrite.co.uk for updates

 

We’ll be paying a visit to a number of contested artefacts in the museum, to hear speakers from the countries whose objects are on display. We’ll be joined by museum workers and climate justice campaigners who will join the dots between these issues. The museum is hiding the truth about the British Empire, while propping up the modern-day polluting empire of BP. Together, we will call on the museum to stop this modern-day colonial behaviour and instead start acting in the interests of the public, museum workers and the communities whose objects it holds.

 

We need our museums to tell us the truth about the British Empire and the objects in their collections, so we can have an honest discussion about righting the historic wrongs that lie at the root of so many global problems today, from resource wars to oppressive regimes to the climate crisis. 

 

And of course, museums need to return stolen items to the communities demanding their return, and stop supporting fossil fuel giants like BP.

 

We need YOU to join the livestream to show your support - let’s show the British Museum that we’re watching them, and call on them together to do the right thing.

 

Sign up at stolen-goods-tour.eventbrite.co.uk or email info@bp-or-not-bp.org for updates

 

(If you're able to help spread the word by forwarding this email, or by sharing this tweet or this Facebook post, we'd really appreciate that too!)'