US tour dates, militarising the Delta, Frack-free UK & more

4 September 2013

We always think that August is going to be a “lull” month in Platform but somehow it never quite happens! In this newsletter you’ll find info on a fracking petition we’re pushing as a part of a civil society coalition, new research on the UK’s role in the militarisation of the Niger Delta, new information on the planned Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline, details of North American tour dates on The Oil Road, and limited edition Conrad Atkinson prints that Liberate Tate are selling as a fundraiser.

Call on Cameron for a frack-free UK

We were very inspired by the time that we spent at the Reclaim The Power fracking camp, especially by the dedication and energy of the local community who have been resisting Cuadrilla’s drilling attempts. Hamza Hamouchene who is working with Platform wrote a blog about his visit and workshops at the camp, but can you also please sign and share this petition that has been launched by a whole host of groups calling on Cameron to stop fracking in the UK.

Balcombe community resistance against Cuadrilla and fracking
Armed Extraction: The UK Military in Nigeria

Eager to get a slice of Nigeria’s growing ‘security’ market, the UK government has actively promoted security and military contracts to UK companies. The government’s role in the militarisation of the oil region comes under fresh scrutiny in this new briefing  Armed Extraction: The UK Military in Nigeria. It highlights serious inadequacies in UK policy, the human rights impacts of military aid and the government’s lack of risk assessment and monitoring.

Read the briefing here and also have a look at its coverage in the Daily Mail.

“The Oil Road” North America speaking tour

Anna Galkina, James Marriott and Mika Minio-Paluello will all be in North America over Sepember and October as part of a speaking tour for the launch of the papeprback version of The Oil Road – Journeys from the Caspian to the City of London. Confirmed dates include the Bay Area, New Orleans, Washington DC, Baltimore and Virginia. You can find all the info on our events page, and you can also read the first of James Marriott’s series of blogs about his travels, starting with a slow-journey across the Atlantic on a container ship.

Europe’s gas grab

In this new illustrated leaflet we follow the route of the planned Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline – meeting people who are talking out against the pipeline and the impact it will have on their lives. The leaflet joins the dots between climate change, human rights abuses and fuel poverty. It talks about the impacts of the pipeline in countries of consumption, transit and extraction

It outlines how the Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline will lock us into an inequitable energy system and stop us making the transition to the clean, community controlled energy we need. Read or download the leaflet.

Summer Shake! course

Our Shake! intensive course at the Bernie Grants Arts Centre “was an immense experience!” according to one of the shake!rs. Special thanks go to Milan Rai who delivered a powerful workshop on Chomsky’s Propaganda Model and Sokari Douglas-Camp who spoke to us about her incredible sculptures, especially the Remember Saro-Wiwa “Battle Bus”.

The week focused on ‘Propaganda, Power and Perceptions’. The poetry group created stunning works engaging with ideas around fracking, leadership, ‘energetic apathy’, reclaiming language, misogyny and corporate power. Gentrification, lack of opportunities, and racial and class segregation were some of the themes informing a fantastic short film conceived of, directed, shot and edited by Shake participants. Here’s a short trailer. Watch this space for our Shake! Showcase, where the full film will be premiered and the poems performed.

Conrad Atkinson prints – “The Oil Ship”

Acclaimed artist Conrad Atkinson has donated a one-off signed and numbered print run of his painting “The Oil Ship” to sell as a fund-raiser for Liberate Tate – the artist collective whose performances address the issue of BP sponsorship of Tate galleries. They’re on sale for £75 here.

Become a Platform sustainer and come to our next Conversations with Platform event.

Thank you to all the people and organisations who supports our work- it would all be impossible without you.

After careful research and lots of input from many of you, we’ll be launching a fundraising appeal soon. We want this to be a fundraising appeal with a difference- that deepens our supporters interaction with the work we do as well as raising vital funds. All sustainers will be invited to the next Conversations with Platform event, where you can meet our staff, and other activists, artists and researchers to discuss our work in a creative setting.

To help support our work please donate here. Regular donations are especially useful as they allow us to plan our work with more confidence. Contact [email protected] if you’d like to chat about how to support Platform. Thank you.

Conrad Atkinson signing “The Oil Road” prints