BP exploits cultural sponsorship for influence, report claims

Art Not Oil
06 May 2016

Anonymous interviews and emails obtained under Freedom of Information suggest the oil giant has some control over the creative output of the cultural organisations it sponsors.

A broad funding base

Outdoor performance
14 Apr 2016

Over £400k has to be raised every year to stage the Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival. How do they do it? Toby Smith outlines his strategy.

Unauthorised arts and climate festival planned in Tate Modern

Platform London campaign
27 Nov 2015

A year before Tate is due to renew its sponsorship with BP, Platform London is curating a free, completely unauthorised festival inside Tate Modern.

Lighting up London

Photo of Durham Lumiere 2015
18 Nov 2015

Artichoke’s Lumiere light festival is hugely reliant on sponsorship. As it prepares to come to London for the first time, Sarah Coop describes the unique challenge of securing support in a new city. 

Heads up for match funding

Photo of Sound of the Sea concert
26 Oct 2015

Match funding has received some bad press recently, but Carl Watt has seen it work wonders at encouraging business sponsorship of the arts in Scotland. 

Knocking with intent

Photo of a networking event
01 Sep 2015

Want to attract support from local businesses? First you’ve got to learn to talk the talk, advises Jon Flinn

The secrets of sponsorship

Iamge of outdoor performance
02 Jul 2015

Is it possible for small, regional arts organisations to secure significant income through sponsorship? Heather Stewart shares the secrets of two festivals that have done just that.

What should Tate have done differently?

Photo of a boy under a big black sheet
04 Jun 2015

David Carrington explains what arts organisations seeking commercial support can learn from the recent Tate/BP sponsorship freedom of information case.

How is business sponsorship performing?

Photo of the BT River of Music Festival
23 Apr 2015

Colin Tweedy calls for business sponsorship of the arts to be nurtured again, particularly outside London where private, philanthropic donations cannot be relied on.

DCMS gives go-ahead to UK City of Culture 2021

Photo of a man lighting a torch
27 Mar 2015

As the UK gears up to celebrate three ‘cities of culture’ between 2017 and 2023, questions still remain over how they will be funded. 

Orchestra strikes sponsorship gold in China

Photo of the Philharmonia Orchestra
24 Feb 2015

A premium drinks producer will pay £500k for a five-year deal with Philharmonia Orchestra, involving artistic and cultural collaborations.

Tate reveals oil sponsorship figures

Photo of people holding a large black square of fabric in the Turbine Hall
26 Jan 2015

Three years after a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Tate has responded to a Tribunal ruling that it must release some details of its sponsorship deal with BP.

Sponsorship in the spotlight

Photo of people holding a large black square of fabric in the Turbine Hall
20 Jan 2015

Following the ruling that Tate should disclose the details of its BP sponsorship, Anna Galkina explains why arts organisations must choose their commercial partners carefully.

Tate ordered to disclose details of BP sponsorship

Photo of veiled people walking through a gallery
23 Dec 2014

The Information Tribunal has given Tate 35 days to disclose the amount of money it received from BP between 1990 and 2006, but more recent sponsorship deals will remain secret.

Our arts leaders can’t afford to forget politics

Photo of a production of The Death of Klinghoffer
03 Dec 2014

If ethical questions lead us to pick and choose what is right and wrong from an artistic perspective, or to judge the credentials of our corporate funders, where do we stop? Michelle Wright calls for more debate about the moral high-ground of art, in the context of what arts organisations need to do to survive and thrive.

Sponsorship revisited

Photo of the Illy Biennale Cafe
29 Sep 2014

Roberta Comunian argues that traditional views on the benefits of arts sponsorship to business have been far too limited, as demonstrated by some recent collaborations in Italy.

“Protests might intensify” over BP sponsorship

Photo of an art intervention at Tate - children play under large black cloth
19 Sep 2014

Tate has faced an Information Tribunal to defend its right to keep details of its financial relationship with the oil company a secret.

Renewed calls for an end to oil sponsorship

Photo of a woman with oil on her face in the NPG
27 Jun 2014

The National Portrait Gallery has previously rejected tobacco money and campaigners are calling on it to be a trailblazer again for the cultural sector by ending its relationship with BP.

Tate members to resign over oil sponsorship deal

People dressed in black stand in large gallery
06 Dec 2013

Members Council refuses to engage with concerns about BP’s brand association.

Book review: Take the money and run?

06 Jun 2013

Bethany Rex finds Platform’s guide to the ethics of business sponsorship in the arts provides a good starting point for debate.

Pages

Subscribe to Sponsorship