Seizure of Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Bus #bus4ogoni9
Nov 3, 2015
This statement is issued to call public attention to the seizure by the Nigerian Customs Service of a “Living Memorial” to Ken Saro-Wiwa donated by Platform – friends and colleagues in the United Kingdom – to the Ogoni people. The memorial is a sculpture of a bus made in remembrance of the struggles of Ken...
Head looking backward the bird flies forward – a night for Ken Saro-Wiwa in Peckham
Nov 3, 2015
[In 7 days’ time it will be 10th November – the 20th anniversary of the executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 Ogoni colleagues. This blog is a response to a powerful poetry event at Peckham Platform last Friday, inspired by the work and life of Ken Saro-Wiwa. Come to the events on Nov 10th –...
This Bitter Earth – rendering the invisible visible
Nov 2, 2015
During my leave over the summer I was really glad to catch the performance Arctic Requiem outside the Shell Centre in August. Here’s a piece I wrote about it, prior to Shell’s decision to cease drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The rain lashes down. A strong south westerly drives it along the Thames, across Jubilee...
You’ll want this stunning new poster artwork for the Ogoni 9
Oct 27, 2015
Long-term struggles need new creative energy to stay nourished. So today we launch a stunning new print artwork – a collaboration between the internationally acclaimed political artist Alfredo Jaar and designer Jon Daniel. Platform commissioned it mark the 20th anniversary of the executions of writer and campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 Ogoni colleagues. Below, see how you can...
Darkness Falling – 100 days in Azerbaijan
Oct 20, 2015
Today the appeal trial of Leyla and Arif Yunus continues in Azerbaijan. As it does James Marriott reflects on 100 days in Azerbaijan. For over 100 days I have been away from the hum of collective life in Platform, away from the buzz of e-mails and twitter, away from the news feed darting this way...
Fossil Funds Free campaign – We are at 300!
Oct 8, 2015
Over the past ten days since the launch of Fossil Funds Free, ever increasing numbers of artists, writers, performers, and organisations have joined the Fossil Funds Free commitment. This is what they are committing to: ‘We do not take any oil, coal, or gas corporate sponsorship for our cultural work. We call on our peers and...
“This is a victory for the people, especially the Inupiat”
Sep 29, 2015
Seven years, $7 billion, and hundreds of protests was what it took. Shell is leaving the Alaskan Arctic. This morning we were outside Shell’s HQ on London’s South Bank to celebrate. I ended up sharing the stage with Aurora – Greenpeace’s spectacular bus-sized polar bear puppet – and Emma Thompson. But I really wish I...
Letting Laurel Speak
Sep 21, 2015
This is a guest blog by Victoria, mother of Laurel, 13, from Children Against Global Warming. Last Sunday my daughter was one of three children who performed an intervention at the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery as part of a day of protests organised by Art Not Oil, against BPs sponsorship. Laurel is...
Smuggled letters in the museum
Sep 18, 2015
On Sunday 13 September, sixteen different groups took over BP-sponsored British Museum for a whole day of performances in resistance to oil sponsorship. This is a partial transcript of our performance that took place in the Museum’s room 56 (Mesopotamia collection). This is a performance by Platform London in solidarity with Azerbaijan’s political prisoners....
What does a socially just energy system look like? We discuss the issues at the Centre for Alternative Technology
Sep 18, 2015
Last weekend the Centre for Alternative Technology hosted the Small is Beautiful festival – two days of DIY wind power workshops, straw building, singing workshops, and a series of participatory debates. With its stunning backdrop of sustainable architecture and functioning forest gardens, CAT is home to progressive postgraduate courses on climate adaptation and politics. Researchers at CAT have spent years crunching...
Azerbaijan journalist imprisoned for seven and a half years
Sep 4, 2015
Azerbaijan investigative journalist and Platform ally, Khadija Ismayil, has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. The BP funded ALiyev regime have given Khadija this sentence in retribution for the stories she wrote. Khadija has been an outspoken critic of BP and the UK government for supporting the Azerbaijan regime. Khadijah’s sentencing follows the murder...
Civil Society in Nigeria calls for deeper commitment to clean-up
Aug 25, 2015
This month marked the 4th anniversary of a historic UNEP report calling for extensive action for the clean-up in the Niger Delta. I caught up with reactions from our partners in Nigeria and jumped on Arise TV to share our responses to the meetings that took place and to ramp up pressure on Shell to follow through...
