Another Tate member resigns over BP sponsorship

Art Not Oil — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Another Tate member resigns over BP sponsorship Art Not Oil Fri, 30/08/2013 - 1:00am

Read Bridget McKenzie's powerful statement here:http://thelearningplanet.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/open-to-tate/#comment…

'About' page from old site

admin — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 17:14:26 +0000

'About' page from old site admin Sun, 03/11/2013 - 5:14pm

See below for a more detailed explanatory pdf, but in the meantime:

Art Not Oil has campaigned against Big Oil cultural sponsorship since 2004. It has also encouraged artists - and would-be artists - to create work that explores the damage that companies like BP and Shell are doing to the planet, and to celebrate the role art can play in counteracting that damage, seeking solutions or simply lifting the spirits. A huge amount of this work is now featured in its 14 online galleries, the most recent of which was 'Cultural or Vultural 2012?', which was a response to BP's sponsorship of both the 2012 Olympics, and the Cultural Olympiad.

Art Not Oil is part of Rising Tide, a UK and international network of grassroots groups taking direct action for 'climate justice'.

It is designed in part to paint a truer portrait of an oil company than the caring image manufactured by events such as the BP Portrait Award, Shell's sponsorship of classic drama at the National Theatre, and other 'cultural activities' of the oil multinationals which also happen to divert public attention away from their actual activities. Climate chaos is set to have a catastrophic effect on all of us, while hitting the poorest hardest. The companies most responsible are profiting handsomely, yet they're still welcome it seems in many of our most prestigious public galleries and museums.

In 2007-8, our Art Not Oil and 'Shell's Wild Lie' exhibitions toured the UK as well as growing in their online galleries. Shell's Wild Lie was part of our campaign against Shell's sponsorship of the Natural History Museum's 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' exhibition, which also included actions and copious communications from concerned members of the public. We worked with Friends of the Earth to bring campaigners affected by Shell's destructive activities to London, and FoE ran an excellent campaign to raise awareness. We can't be sure exactly why the 2 year contract between the NHM and Shell wasn't renewed, but we were completely cockahoop at the result.

2009 was our 6th year of operation, and began with the end of Shell at the National Theatre (potentially), with 'Oedipus' closing on Ogoni Day - January 4th.

The Shell Galleries grew inexorably; we added a BP Gallery to keep it company.

Our 2010 diary was used by all sorts of interested and interesting people, (we still have a few left over, in case you're interested - it was a one-off, so naturally it's something you'll want your grandchildren to find amongst your belongings.)

BP's Deepwater oil spill in April 2010 triggered a wave of actions against BP's sponsorship of culture, particularly the Tate, spearheaded by Liberate Tate and Licence to Spill, and followed by the Reclaim Shakespeare Company. They have joined us in the campaign to push - or nudge - sponsored institutions to adopt climate (justice)-related sponsorship criteria.

We can't be sure of the reasons, but we heard in April 2011 that the Almeida Theatre no longer accepts sponsorship from BP. It may have been our flow of courteous communications in 2010, or the Art Not Oil dairies delivered to every employee; it might have been the vocal opposition to BP of musician (and sometime Almeida collaborator) Matthew Herbert...it may have been other factors. Whatever the cause, it's excellent news. We wish the Almeida the best of luck in continuing to stage powerful theatre in the face of a tough Arts Council cut.

The 2011-13 online gallery is growing gradually, and it was joined in 2011 by 'Facing the Gulf', a series of portraits by - and of - those affected by Deepwater.

Every time a cultural institution turns down fossil fuelled support, Big Oil's stranglehold on us all is eased a little. When the entire sector has gone the way of Big Tobacco in being unwelcome in any gallery, museum, opera house or theatre, the transition to a more just and safer world will be more within our grasp than ever.

We hope you are affected by what you see here, and are able to help us speed up the process of getting Big Oil kicked out of High Culture. If you have any queries, or would like to get involved, whether submitting artwork, hosting an exhibition, doing publicity or getting involved with many other tasks that need doing to highlight the actions we need to take to combat climate chaos and social injustice, then...

...please ring us on: 07709 545116 or see Contact Us

Art Not Oil is a project of Rising Tide UK.

Art Not Oil: What's Happened and Why?

Here is an extended version of the piece that appeared in the 2010 Art Not Oil desk diary

Download 2010 diary

'Links' page from previous site

admin — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 13:58:29 +0000

'Links' page from previous site admin Sun, 03/11/2013 - 1:58pm

Funding Organisations

Artists' Project Earth
Supported the ANO 2010 Desk Diary!

Websites of Activist & Research Groups

Liberate Tate
Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination
Climate Greenwash
Airport Watch
Plane Stupid
Plan B
For a sustainable energy future.
Oilwatch
A resistance network opposing the activities of oil companies in tropical countries.
Cornerhouse
Produce excellent detailed briefings on carbon trading as well as plenty of other research material.
Sinkswatch
Tracking carbon trading projects.
Carbon Trade Watch
Why market-based mechanisms are bad for the climate (but great for greenwash...)
PLATFORM's carbon web
PLATFORM's Shell & BP research: info-rich site!
Corporate Watch
Spilling the beans on the corporations.
Rising Tide UK
Network of individuals and groups dedicated to taking local action and building a movement against climate change.
London Rising Tide
Direct action group once responsible for Art Not Oil; (we still love 'em!)

ANO News Stories

News stories about the growing movement against oily sponsorship.

Olympic sponsors set to face lukewarm reception, Brand Republic, 25.1.07
Olympic sponsors set to face lukewarm reception by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 25-Jan-07, 10:30 LONDON - The general public has given a huge thumbs down to the London 2012 Olympic organiser's plans to raise sponsorship money from companies pe
Shell Wildlife victory
24 Hour Museum
Shell's Wild Lie - Art Not Oil Exhibition Opens At Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Targetting The Tate
London rising Tide visits the Tate re BP sponsorhsip and questions about the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.
Oil On Canvas.
Corporate Watch article on 2004 Art Not Oil.
Call out for the 2004 Exhibition
The 2004 Art Not Oil campaign.
Oil Festival Hall Banner Drop 2004
Rising Tide visits the South Bank
Climate Activists at the British Museum
2003 Rising Tide action at the British Museum.
'Platform: attempting to drive a wedge between the Tate Modern and BP' - Ecologist, 18.2.11
Independent piece quotes Art Not Oiler, 27.12.11
Vultural or Cultural Olympiad? (And more...) - Guardian article, 13.12.11
Art collective Liberate Tate uses Arctic ice to protest at gallery's BP sponsorship - The Independent, 16.01.12
PLATFORM radio show about oil sponsorship, and creative resistance to it, (Dec '11): http://soundcloud.com/resonance-fm/platform-culture-beyond-oil
Liberate Tate's Spokesman on Why Fighting BP Sponsorship Picks Up the Cause of Tahrir Square - ARTINFO UK, 4.01.12
A laser-guided look at the old ways keeping power in the hands of a (very) few, and the way they prevent positive change from coming to pass (for now at least)

Memorial sites

Remember Saro-Wiwa
2005 was the tenth anniversary of the murder by the Shell-backed Nigerian government of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.'Remember Saro-Wiwa' is a coalition of groups that helped set up a competition to create a living memorial to him - and what he and his compatriots achieved
Shell Oiled Wildlife; Rising Tide/Art Not Oil campaign against Shell's sponsorship of Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Competition. 'Shell's Wild Lie' etc.
National Petroleum Gallery
Spoof NPG site.

Films

Films tackling climate change and related issues.

Just Do It
July 2010: Just Do It is an exciting new feature-length documentary film that follows the mischievous and risky world of UK climate activists.
SchNEWS Movies
Free short movies on environmental and related themes from Brightons best loved,( and written )& most informative newspaper.
Reach For The Sky
Activist filmakers Undercurrents reportage of anti-runway campaigns.

Alt Art Projects

Here are links to a few relevant alt. political art projects.

RSA Arts & Ecology
Dark Mountain
Artists create Uncivilisation
Climate Change Artists
Power to the Poster
Justseeds
Visual resistance artists' cooperative, Portland, Oregon, USA
Centre for the Study of Political Graphics (based in USA)
www.consciousoil.org
'Myth and mind in the age of petroleum'

Articles & Useful Publications

Eco-Art Exhibit Tied to BP Funding
Going to war with a pencil
Earth First! Journal
Hidden stories of resistance, as well as terrific artworks, poetry etc.
BP - Extracting Influence at the Heart of the EU
BP is one of the world’s leading international oil and gas companies (IOCs) and Europe’s second largest corporation. This report examines BP’s interface with Brussels, analysing what the company might achieve through European Union (EU) support and h
Car Busters
Always full of excellent artwork...
Resistance to BP at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Turn Up The Heat - G Monbiot
George Monbiot's new book "Heat" exposing greenwash " My fear is not that people will stop talking about climate change. My fear is that they will talk us to Kingdom Come."
George Marshall's Climate Denial
George Marshall (of COIN)'s new blog.
Red Pepper Magazine
Red Pepper Magazine - For green and radical left people.
'Funny Weather We're Having'
'Funny Weather We're Having' - Kate Evans Climate change cartoon booklet (updated comic now available from London Rising Tide); also now a book
Privatising Culture
Privatising Culture: Corporate Art Intervention Since the 1980s, Chin-tao Wu, (London and New York: Verso, 2002) - a review
BP: Beyond Petroleum
Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism- Sharon Beder, Green Books, 1997 revised May 2002.
Global spin: The Corporate Assault On Environmentalism
Global spin: The Corporate Assault On Environmentalism by Sharon Beder,Green Books, 1997 revised May 2002.
Greenwash or Us: an activist's diary
An Activist's Diary of 'Greenwash or Us', London Rising Tide's inaugural 'Exhibition of Resistance' to BP's hijacking of the arts, from Red Pepper Magazine 29th July 2004.
Culture Incorporated: Museums, Artists, and Corporate Sponsorships
Useful books on corporate arts, Mark W. Rectanus,(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002
'Fooling The Present, F**ing The Future' - London Rising Tide (Mute Magazine)
Climate justice direct action group London Rising Tide visits the Science Museum's new exhibition, 'Energy - Fuelling the Future', nearly drowns in corporate doublespeak, but recovers enough to chat with a passing teacher and locate the main spo nsors

Pollution' - Morgan Zigler

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:22:08 +0000

Pollution' - Morgan Zigler Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 4:22am

Album

Art Not Oil 2009

a collage depicting the alberta tar sands spliced with future developments and impacts

We have already pushed the button'

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:21:58 +0000

We have already pushed the button' Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 4:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2008

baggage tag UK

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:21:45 +0000

baggage tag UK Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 4:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2007

Roads To Nowhere - Fiona Richmond

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:21:33 +0000

Roads To Nowhere - Fiona Richmond Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 3:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2005

Smiles Means Sales - F Richmond

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:21:28 +0000

Smiles Means Sales - F Richmond Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 3:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2005

Fuel Explosion - George Osodi ( Nigeria 2004 )

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:21:28 +0000

Fuel Explosion - George Osodi ( Nigeria 2004 ) Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 3:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2005

Peace In Our Time - Peter Kennard

Art Not Oil — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:21:23 +0000

Peace In Our Time - Peter Kennard Art Not Oil Sat, 26/10/2013 - 3:21am

Album

Art Not Oil 2004

Archive

Another Tate member resigns over BP sponsorship

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Add new comment

'About' page from old site

Art Not Oil: What's Happened and Why?

Tags

Add new comment

'Links' page from previous site

Funding Organisations

Websites of Activist & Research Groups

ANO News Stories

Memorial sites

Films

Alt Art Projects

Articles & Useful Publications

Tags

Add new comment

Pollution' - Morgan Zigler

Album

We have already pushed the button'

Album

baggage tag UK

Album

Roads To Nowhere - Fiona Richmond

Album

Smiles Means Sales - F Richmond

Album

Fuel Explosion - George Osodi ( Nigeria 2004 )

Album

Peace In Our Time - Peter Kennard

Album