Selected Output
This page lists any entry on the site marked with one of the selected categories in the left hand column, most recent first. Selecting other categories will further hone this list.
Iraq, BP and the British Museum – look upon these works and hang our heads in shame
Blog post -
Mar 14, 2019
I had read in advance the briefing that Culture Unstained had put out to accompany the planned action. The protest at the British Museum was to be against BP’s sponsorship of the exhibition ‘I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria’, a display of treasures from the land of Iraq. I read lines...
Edinburgh Festival drops BP. And 1 in 2 Londoners think British Museum should do the same
Blog post -
Apr 6, 2016
The news is just in: the Edinburgh International Festival is not renewing its BP sponsorship – as confirmed by the festival on Twitter. Last year, Festival star Simon McBurney criticised the BP relationship, alongside Emma Thompson, Mark Rylance, and Caryl Churchill. Several theatres including London’s Royal Court and Arcola have joined the Fossil Funds Free...
Tate’s BP decision: What should Tate have done differently?
Article -
Jun 10, 2015
David Carrington explains why arts organisations seeking commercial support could learn important lessons from the way Tate conducts itself as revealed through the recent BP sponsorship Freedom of Information case. David is an independent consultant and governance adviser. This article is part of ‘Mind the Gap: expert evaluations of Tate’s ethical decision-making over BP‘. For...
Shell’s climate marketing tricks
Blog post -
Nov 3, 2014
Have you seen all these new Shell ads? Billboards on high streets and tube stations celebrate Shell as a champion of climate action and “keeping-the-lights-on”. When she’s your age What’s the way to keep the lights on into 2050? Burn the rest of the world’s fossil fuels, of course. And look, she’s even got a...
Extent of oil money in the arts revealed by new research and infographic
Press release -
Apr 28, 2014
Oil money only ‘tiny sliver’ in comparison to overall incomes New research from oil industry watchdog Platform today has revealed how small the amount of oil money going into UK arts institutions compared to their overall budgets. At the end of 2011, BP announced a £10 million sponsorship deal for four of London’s flagship cultural...
What does the backlash over the Sydney Biennale sponsorship controversy say about the art world?
Blog post -
Mar 17, 2014
Guest blog post by Dr Alana Jelinek I have argued in the past that there are inherent problems with contemporary public-private funding models invented with the New Labour government and made very prescriptive since the year 2000 across subsequent governments of all hues. We can see just how prescriptive is its potential in the current...
Excerpts from Take The Money and Run? New guide on arts, ethics and sponsorship
Blog post -
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...
Want to understand the routes of corporate power? Read ‘The corporation that changed the world’
Blog post -
Dec 21, 2012
Whether it’s Google, Amazon, Starbucks using legal loopholes to avoid corporation tax; Apple’s subcontractors’ deathly abuse of workers in China; the ongoing call for justice from Bhopal over Union Carbide; Shell, BP’s activities in numerous vulnerable oil-affected communities; the bailout of RBS and Lloyds/TSB as ‘too big to fail’; or G4S taking over running sections of...
Talking memes
Blog post -
Sep 7, 2012
How can we use images to tell the stories we want to tell – and avoid repeating the ones we don’t? Photo memes are fast becoming a viral hit. Quicker than 30 second videos, the combination of an image and a short piece of text is being used across social media to convey jokes or...
Tullow Oil’s foul play in Ghana
Blog post -
Jun 28, 2012
Sunderland FC’s controversial sponsorship deal with a Tullow Oil front group was featured in today’s Independent: There are growing concerns surrounding the suitability of Sunderland's new sponsor, Invest in Africa, amid claims from the oil watchdog Platform that the initiative's founding partner, Tullow Oil, is responsible for damaging business practices on the continent. Tullow...
Shell admits funding Niger Delta “warlords”
Article -
May 2, 2012
This guest blog for Greenpeace UK was written by Ben Amunwa and first published on 2 May 2012. A recent video published online shows a Shell executive admitting that the oil giant could easily be funding what he describes as “warlords” and militants in Nigeria. You can watch the video here, (see 57mins – 1hr). The admission...
Oil conflict in the Niger Delta – the role of Shell: a Platform briefing for investors
Publication -
Apr 3, 2012
This investor briefing on Shell Nigeria was written by Ben Amunwa for Platform in April 2012. It provides an overview of the social, environmental and financial issues on Shell's operations in the Niger Delta region. It is recommended to investors who are concerned about economic risks, social responsibility issues and reputational damage. Download the briefing....
