The British Museum plans to renew its controversial sponsorship deal with BP, according to internal emails.
Documents obtained by Culture Unstained show museum director Hartwig Fischer met with the oil giant last year to discuss continuing the partnership beyond spring 2023.
BP or not BP, a separate activist group, staged a protest over the weekend in which they pretended to be British Museum staff presenting fake plans to drill for oil at Stonehenge, in reference to the institution's new BP-funded exhibition about the site.
Last year, the museum publicly claimed “no decision as to a future potential renewal is currently under consideration, nor is it likely to be relevant for some time”.
Culture Unstained said sponsorship renewal would be a “reckless move”.
“It would give further legitimacy to an oil and gas company that has made a massive contribution to climate breakdown and is raking in huge profits from an energy price crisis that’s causing financial hardship for millions.”