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BP's Cultural Sponsorship: a Corrupting Influence

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BP's Cultural Sponsorship: a Corrupting Influence BP’s cultural sponsorship: A corrupting influence Art Not Oil May 2016 Coalition artnotoil.org.uk The Art Not Oil coalition Art Not Oil is a coalition of groups united around the aim of ending oil sponsorship of the arts. They include BP or not BP?, Platform London; Rising Tide a theatrical protest group UK; UK Tar Sands who campaigned Network; Dharma successfully to end BP’s Action Network for sponsorship of the Climate Engagement; Edinburgh and the Progressive International Festival; Science Institute. Liberate Tate, whose We are part of the audacious art interventions international movement Gilberto Torres, who is currently suing helped force Tate and BP to for #FossilFreeCulture. BP for its role in his kidnap and split; the PCS Union Culture Sector, torture in Colombia, speaks about his For more info please visit our experiences in the British Museum. representing 5,000 workers in UK Photo: Kristian Buus museums and galleries; website: artnotoil.org.uk Far from being a ‘no strings attached’ Contents funder, BP’s behaviour is Summary 3 described by a member of Key findings 4 British Museum staff, Introduction 5 speaking exclusively for this report, as ‘extremely 1. BP-sponsored security 7 demanding of the a. Collusion Around the Management of Legitimate Protest 7 b. BP-hosted ‘Counter-Terrorism Training’ 9 Museum – bullying, c. Day-to-Day Security Collaboration 10 I would say.’ d. Security Collaboration at the Science Museum 12 Front cover photo: Performers from the e. Evidence Gaps in Security Disclosure 14 Art Not Oil coalition call for an end to BP sponsorship of culture, in the British Museum. Photo by Anna Branthwaite 2. BP-sponsored curators and directors 16 a. Sign-off and Approval on Curatorial Decisions 16 b. BP’s Strategically Selective Financial Support 20 c. Close Personal Relationships Between Senior Staff 23 3. BP-sponsored policymakers 26 a. Privileged Access to the Department for Culture, 26 Media & Sport b. Election Advocacy with the Science Museum 29 c. Gaining Access to Strategically Valuable International 30 Policymakers Oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, part of a ‘rebel exhibition’ List of Appendices 34 in the British Museum - see historyofbp.org. Photo: Amy Scaife Endnotes 36 2 BP’s cultural sponsorship: A corrupting influence BP’s cultural sponsorship: A corrupting influence The FOI Act only provides limited and often heavily Summary redacted access to certain emails and documents, so the bulk of BP’s relationships with its cultural partners – phone calls, personal conversations, and un-minuted This year, BP’s sponsorship deal with four of the UK’s meetings – remain hidden. However, even the limited most prominent and visited cultural institutions will material uncovered here contains concrete examples come to an end: the British Museum, the Royal Opera that provide an insight – however partial – into BP’s House, Tate and the National Portrait Gallery. It was influence over these institutions. revealed in March 2016 that BP’s deal with Tate will These examples include: not be renewed; the other three institutions are still in negotiation with BP over the future of these • Hosting meetings for cultural institutions’ security partnerships. staff to co-ordinate the management of anti-BP In the aftermath of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon protests disaster in the Gulf of Mexico – which landed the • Funding a festival of Mexican culture in order to gain company with the biggest criminal and environmental access to Mexico’s ambassador in the run-up to oil fines in US history – BP initiated a five-year lease auctions sponsorship deal with these globally renowned cultural • Using its sponsorship relationships to lobby the institutions. The deal has helped BP to clean up its Culture Minister tarnished reputation, and provides the company with a • Getting final approval on curatorial decisions in the strategic tool for furthering its business aim of the British Museum’s Indigenous Australia exhibition continued and long-term extraction of fossil fuels.1 By promoting its brand within iconic museums and Far from being a ‘no strings attached’ funder, BP’s galleries, BP aims to secure a ‘social licence to operate’, behaviour is described by a member of British Museum framing itself as a responsible corporate citizen in the staff, speaking exclusively for this report, as ‘extremely eyes of the public and those in positions of power.2 demanding of the Museum – bullying, I would say.’ According to BP CEO Bob Dudley, the company The institutions have been reticent to share ‘supports the best of British arts and culture with no information about these relationships. Our requests for strings attached’.3 The reality is more complex, and information have encountered inconsistent responses more troubling. By providing a trickle of funds to its from the British Museum, resistance to disclosure by ‘cultural partners’, BP is able to influence the content of the Metropolitan Police Service and uncovered errors events and exhibitions, and use respected, publicly- in FOI searching at the Science Museum and National funded institutions to promote its own business Portrait Gallery. interests to powerful elites. The company’s position as These examples appear to breach the institutions’ a funder is compromising the independence and own ethical codes, and those of the umbrella bodies to integrity of Britain’s cultural sector, and stifling voices which they belong. This crossing of ethical ‘red lines’ of criticism and dissent. should be of grave concern to trustees, staff and the For the first time, this report provides wide-ranging public. If publicly-funded cultural institutions are to evidence of this corrupting influence, most notably in prevent their core purpose from being undermined, the British Museum, Tate, National Portrait Gallery and be ethically consistent at all levels of their and Science Museum. It draws on material from a operations, they should follow in the footsteps of Tate series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made and the Edinburgh International Festival and end their in 2015-16. sponsorship deals with BP. Art Not Oil Coalition artnotoil.org.uk 3 Key findings While the sponsored institutions claim that BP has no influence over how they are run, we have unearthed troubling evidence to the contrary. This report identifies inappropriate influence by BP in three key areas: curatorial decision-making, security procedures and opportunities for influence over policymakers. BP-sponsored security • BP held a meeting at its London Offices between its security team and representatives of its cultural partners in order to discuss ‘suggested BP head office in London measures’ for the management of legitimate protest Photo (cc) WhisperToMe • BP has hosted ‘Counter-Terrorism Training’ at its London Offices for personnel from the cultural institutions it sponsors • BP has regularly been in a position to influence institutional security procedures, pass on intelligence/surveillance material and ensure those with legitimate concerns about BP’s business practices are closely monitored BP-sponsored curators and directors • BP staff have been given opportunity to input into, sign-off and approve decisions related to programming and content at BP-sponsored institutions • BP has been strategic and highly selective in its financial support, in order to instigate or further those institutions’ projects which are beneficial to the company’s wider business interests A ‘deathly BP exec’ attends the • BP staff regularly enjoy interaction with senior members of gallery and British Museum's BP-sponsored museum staff, often maintaining close personal relationships with those ‘Days of the Dead’ festival, along with BP, British officials and the Mexican in positions of power ambassador. Photo: Diana More • British Museum staff describe BP as ‘extremely demanding’ and ‘bullying’ BP-sponsored policymakers • BP has established high-level relationships at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), enjoying regular private meetings and issuing personal invitations from BP’s CEO to the Secretary of State to private launch events • BP sought to use its sponsorship relationships to enhance its own lobbying ahead of the 2015 General Election • BP used its cultural partnerships to secure private meetings and VIP reception events with government officials from countries of strategic interest to the company, such as Mexico and Australia, and the British The Science Museum's Director Ian Blatchford receives the Pushkin Museum even requested the Mexican Embassy delete the invitation list medal from Vladimir Putin. for one such VIP reception with BP Photo: the Kremlin 4 BP’s cultural sponsorship: A corrupting influence Introduction: BP’s controversial arts programme On Friday 11th March, it was confirmed that, after 26 years, BP will no longer sponsor Tate when the current funding deal ends in 2017. BP has claimed that this decision was down to a ‘challenging business environment’ and the need to cut operational costs. However, it is clear that a sustained campaign of creative protest, legal action and public pressure had made Tate’s relationship with the oil company untenable.4 One month later, on Wednesday 6th April, The hashtag #dropBP is projected onto the British Museum by Feral X as a lecture on the museum's forthcoming BP-sponsored exhibition, Sunken Cities, is held in the the Edinburgh BP Lecture Theatre inside. Photo: Diana More. International Festival launched its 2016 programme without BP sponsorship, Tate had been part of a block 5-year sponsorship deal bringing to an end a 34-year funding relationship. BP with BP, announced in December 2011, alongside again cited the ‘challenging business environment’ as three of the UK’s most prominent and visited cultural the reason for the split, even though its annual institutions: the British Museum, Royal Opera House donation was only £10,000 - a figure dwarfed by the and National Portrait Gallery. These three have not yet £14 million pay rise it gave its CEO at the same time, confirmed whether they will renew their sponsorship making this a highly implausible excuse.
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