London listed oil company at centre of Kazakh crackdowns
Dec 16, 2011
Today The Guardian reports that at least 10 people have been killed in violent clashes between police and oil workers in Zhanaozen, a small city in western Kazakhstan. Local oil workers have been protesting for higher wages and better working conditions throughout 2011. The oil and gas companies, among them KMG, (KazMunaiGaz) which is 39% owned...
Platform is hiring – Energy Policy Campaigner
Dec 15, 2011
This job is no longer available and is here for reference only. Energy Policy Campaigner: Summary Job Description Do you want to shift UK policy away from supporting destructive oil and gas projects and repressive dictatorships? Platform is a leading charity that combines arts, research and campaigning for social and environmental justice. We run global campaigns...
BP Portrait Award exhibitor speaks about BP
Dec 14, 2011
Raoul Martinez is a portrait artist who has twice been shortlisted as part of the prestigious BP Portrait Award. We hooked him up with a journalist for an upcoming article about the ongoing controversies around arts sponsorship, such as the news in the Guardian about Tate's review of BP sponsorship, and Alice Oswald withdrawing from...
Getting to Market – new report by Platform, Oil Change Int. and Greenpeace UK highlights investor risks in the tar sands
Dec 14, 2011
The global oil price wavers around $100 a barrel as traders are split over whether Brent Crude is about to plummet due to the Eurozone disaster getting worse, or about the spike due to a renewed Middle East crisis. It is snowing in Fort McKay, in Nothern Alberta, and the temperature of -6 feels like...
California protests against Chevron’s tax grab
Dec 14, 2011
While times are hard and vast majority of us are feeling the squeeze, business is booming for oil multinationals. And it seems that companies will do anything to maximise their profits, even if tax payers bear the cost. Oil giant Chevron is demanding a $150 million tax refund from Richmond City Council, California. News from our...
Oil Spill Art – Ruppe Koselleck on the Culture Beyond Oil launch
Dec 9, 2011
Last week, we launched our new publication Not if but when – Culture Beyond Oil, and German artist Ruppe Koselleck came over to help us personalise each and every one that we printed. Here’s his take on how it went. The experiment: 1000 crude oil drawings for 1000 copies to support the end of oil...
Tate Director Nicholas Serota says decision on BP-Tate sponsorship to be made soon
Dec 5, 2011
Pressure mounts on Trustees to reject extension of relationship with BP as more than 8,000 Tate Members and visitors sign open letter calling on the art museum to break links with oil company 5 December 2011 – For Immediate Release The decision about whether or not to renew an increasingly controversial sponsorship contract with oil...
Photo gallery from Launch of ‘Not if but when: Culture Beyond Oil’
Dec 1, 2011
Warm thanks to everyone who came to the launch on Tuesday – what a lovely evening. If you’ve not seen it yet check out the publication online and order copies direct from Platform.
Platform Promenade – Guest blog by participant Hester Berry
Nov 28, 2011
Hester Berry is a landscape painter who participated in the recent series of Platform Promenade – Oil and the City. This is her account of the experience. ‘Twas a cold and misty morning. Our little group gathered at a pre-determined location near Liverpool Street Station to await instructions. All we had been told was that we...
Tullow sues Heritage – Uganda pays the price; court papers published for $300m oil trial
Nov 28, 2011
Guestblog by Taimour Lay, Former Platform researcher, Uganda and DRC. Download the full court papers (30 megabytes) A court case in London between Tullow and Heritage will reveal much of what went wrong in the battle over Uganda’s oil. It is a long way from the shores of Lake Albert to the new commercial court...
Read online now – Not If But When: Culture Beyond Oil
Nov 27, 2011
Now available to read online – click on the Issuu link above, or you can download the publication as a pdf here. For hard copies by post visit this page for a range of payment options or you can purchase it from the Live Art Development Agency online shop here. December 2011: Art collective Liberate...
