BP is planning a $40 bn pipeline and wants us to subsidise it
May 17, 2013
BP pushed for major subsidies at the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) AGM in Istanbul last weekend, while hyping the grand scale of its pipeline plans. Between speeches by Prime Ministers and sessions on “Supporting Growth Amidst Austerity”, oil companies revealed their intentions to spend $40 billion expanding Europe’s gas grid to suck...
Even oil dictators need a social license to operate – Aliyev’s cultural spending spree
May 16, 2013
Whether it’s BP’s sponsorship of the Tate galleries, Shell’s funding for the Southbank Centre or Tullow Oil’s controversial deals with Sunderland football club oil company sponsorship of the arts is a familiar phenomenon. But what about oil dictators? Do they also need a social license to operate? What kinds of institutions would they throw money...
Tate members accuse Serota of ‘misrepresentation’ over BP questions at AGM
May 14, 2013
In December last year, a number of Tate Members wrote a letter to the Tate Members Council to raise concerns about the controversial sponsorship deal with BP, and some of those signatories went to the Tate Members AGM to discuss the issues face to face. The AGM was again dominated by the issue, with critical...
The battle of definitions: ‘no subsidies for the oil industry’
May 13, 2013
The oil and gas industry enjoys no subsidy from government, nor are we asking for any. - said last week by Oil&Gas UK CEO Malcolm Webb at the Oil Politics conference at Aberdeen University (I should mention that there were several more substantial conversations at this conference that I will take a little time to write...
Growing unease in Norway over Statoil and cultural sponsorship
May 13, 2013
A few months ago we published a blog post from someone who felt that they could no longer engage with the Bergen International Festival because of Statoil sponsorship. It’s now turned into a more sustained debate in Norway about the role that the oil company plays in the cultural sector. Here’s some more info from...
More reviews and analysis of The Oil Road, and paperback release news
May 10, 2013
The Oil Road continues to get great feedback from the press, blogs and at events all over the country, and we’re delighted to announce that it will be coming out in paperback in Autumn 2013. Last month, Radio 4′s Thinking Allowed did a special programme on ‘The Power of Oil’, featuring James Marriott of Platform, Prof....
Can’t buy me love? Walking the ethical fundraising tightrope
May 9, 2013
“The worst kind of business environment, mixed with moral manipulation,” was how a friend of mine described fundraising in a large charity. I sympathise with those fundraisers, because I’ve worked in fundraising teams with heavy bottom lines and sky-high targets. Producing high returns on investment is the constant pressure on fundraisers so it’s not surprising...
Gulf Coast organisations respond to Liberate Tate’s ‘BP Trial’ performance
Apr 29, 2013
Last week saw art-interventionists Liberate Tate carry out a week long performance in Tate Modern, with three different performers whispering excerpts from the BP trial transcripts for an hour every day. Using specially constructed frames to hold a mobile phone, the performers filmed themselves and live-streamed their delivery so that people from all over the...
Liberate Tate perform BP trial all week in Tate Modern – #AllRise
Apr 23, 2013
Visitors to London’s iconic Tate Modern gallery this week might be a bit bemused to glimpse figures with strange filming devices strapped on to their bodies and wandering about muttering to themselves. It’s the latest performance from art-interventionists Liberate Tate, who are performing the BP trial over the course of the week in Tate Modern,...
Supreme Court Ruling Blocks Human Rights Case Against Shell In The Niger Delta
Apr 22, 2013
Last week, a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Company blocked relatives of murdered activists from the Niger Delta from bringing a case against Shell in the US using the Alien Tort Statute. Not only does this ruling prevent the families from seeking justice but it may also shield...
“Gaz de schiste – c’est fasciste!” – Don’t Frack Algeria
Apr 17, 2013
On Monday Algerian activists in London protested against fracking plans, as Minister of Energy and Mines Youcef Yousfi was presenting to the Algeria British Business Council. The chants of “Gaz de schiste! C’est fasciste!” and “No Fracking Way!” could be heard clearly inside the hall, provoking giggling. As the Minister paused, the refrain of “Youcef...
Excerpts from Take The Money and Run? New guide on arts, ethics and sponsorship
Apr 16, 2013
This week, together with Live Art Development Agency, we are launching a beautiful print and e-version of the Agency’s Study Room Guide ‘Take the money and run? Some positions on ethics, business sponsorship and making art’. The Guide was commissioned by the Agency from Platform, and I took up the interesting task of choosing and...