Issue and Opponent: The British Museum had received annual funding from the oil company BP for more than 20 years. The funding had been viewed as a way for BP to clean up its dirty image by associating itself with one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions. The annual costs of BP funding the British Museum are equivalent to about two hours of profit for the oil giant. The activists stated that BP is violating human rights, destroying ecosystems, and actively driving the world towards climate catastrophe, and therefore to receive sponsorship from BP was to condone these business practices.
Dilemma Action: In efforts to have the British Museum drop BP as a sponsor, the Art Not Oil coalition group occurred in the Great Court of the museum with a disobedient exhibition. The activists called the action “A History of BP in 10 Objects,” where an exhibition featured artifacts submitted from communities fighting back against the impacts of BP’s operations around the world. The group held the space throughout the day, and hundreds of museum visitors were able to engage with it. Some of the objects highlighted the impact of BP’s environmental destruction, while others displayed the effects of its human rights abuses. Meanwhile, a letter signed by 91 prominent figures from the world of arts, culture, science, and politics was launched on the Guardian website. The letter asked the British Museum director to withdraw from BP sponsorship, as BP’s business plan is incompatible with a stable climate. Both the letter and the exhibition were planned to coincide with the arrival of the museum’s new director, Hartwig Fischer.
Outcomes: The action received a storm of media coverage. A survey of British Museum staff later showed a strong internal majority of dissatisfaction with the BP sponsorship. People from different groups were able to engage with the action, as well as throw their support behind it with a petition created later. The British Museum, however, did not end BP sponsorship. A museum spokesperson told the media that the British Museum was grateful to BP for its long-term commitment to funding. The British Museum’s chair of trustees defended the institution’s continued partnership as public funding had declined in recent years. Following yet another sponsorship deal from another oil company, two trustees of the museum board resigned in 2019.