Protest at Tate Modern Against BP Sponsorship

The week of protest marking the first anniversary of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill continued today with a direct action at the Tate Modern gallery, one of the arts institutions sponsored by the oil giant.

Environmental activists staged a sleep-in flashmob inside the gallery, before sounding a wake-up call for Tate to liberate itself from relying on BP's dirty money. The protest, organised by London Rising Tide and Art Not Oil, continued outside the gallery on the Bankside, featuring bamboo tripods, banners and a mobile sound system. Speakers included an indigenous Canadian activist highlighting the dangers of BP's tar sands extraction programme in North Alberta, and a Texan activist from a fishing community devastated by the last year's Gulf oil spill, who had earlier in the week been denied access to BP's AGM. Their stories highlighted the contrast between the image BP seeks to project to the world by sponsoring cultural institutions and events, and its role in continued devastation of the lives and livelihoods of communities worlwide.