Ending oil industry sponsorship of the arts
From our friends at @ukscn_london:
'we have put pressure on the @sciencemuseum
to #dropshell’s sponsorship of their new carbon capture exhibition. their response wasn’t good enough, so we are calling for action. join us in demanding that shell’s sponsorship is dropped: 22nd may | 2pm | the science museum'
See also: https://cultureunstained.org/oil-sponsorship-of-the-science-museum/
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/our-future-planet
Robin Ince's blog explains the reasoning behind his decision to also pull out of the event:
In the Hope of Better Possible Futures - Why I Pulled Out of the Science Museum Event:
BREAKING! Our campaign against oil sponsorship of the arts has just won 'Best Campaign' at the #CreativeGreen Awards 2020, organised and hosted by the amazing Julie's Bicycle.
This award is for everyone who has been part of this creative movement, from artists to activists, and from arts workers to youth strikers!
From our friends at Fossil Free Culture in the Netherlands:
'Last night was 25 years since 9 Nigerian activists were hanged for activism against Shell. Our hearts are with their families & communities. Last night we commemorated their deaths at Shell sponsored NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam.
We, & so many others, follow in their footsteps;
NEMO offers violent climate denier Shell a podium to present itself as a company with a heart, by accepting their blood money. NEMO, we will not stop until you cut your ties with Shell.
More from our good friends at BP or not BP?:
'Today we held a protest at the British Museum, in solidarity with Indigenous Arctic communities whose sacred lands are under immediate threat from oil drilling.
Taken from: https://www.rhinegold.co.uk/classical_music/amsterdams-concertgebouw-dr… 11th September 2020 'All cultural institutions on Amsterdam’s Museumplein – including the Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and the Royal Concertgebouw – have cut ties with fossil fuel companies. The move was encouraged by artist collective Fossil Free Culture NL (FFCNL), who have been campaigning for the arts to withdraw from fossil fuel company sponsorship for three years.
Posted on August 27, 2020 In February, 1500 people joined us to protest BP’s sponsorship of the British Museum. We peacefully occupied the building and grounds for three days to shine a spotlight on the oil company’s impacts around the world, and the ways in which the museum’s own history and that of its sponsor were born out of colonialism and Empire. But as the British Museum reopens today, we will not be protesting. We know that staff at the museum are facing intense pressures as they attempt to reopen the museum in a way that is safe for all.
This from our friends at Culture Unstained: https://cultureunstained.org/2020/05/04/bp-dropped-as-judge-of-portrait… BP DROPPED AS JUDGE OF PORTRAIT AWARD AFTER 23 YEARS May 4, 2020 For the first time in 23 years, BP has not had a representative on the judging panel of the National Portrait Gallery’s annual BP Portrait Award.
Cultural institutions and arts organisation have taken the difficult decision to shut their doors as part of a nationwide response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Many took this decision unilaterally, rightly prioritising the need to protect the health and safety of their artists, visitors and staff. Many cultural organisations, venues and funders have already done the right thing by giving their staff and those they work with clear assurances that they will be paid and supported during this period. However, many still haven’t.
