Following a two-month-long investigation, the Museums Association has found that UK cultural institutions sponsored by the oil giant BP are not in breach of its code of ethics.
In May, the protest coalition Art Not Oil published a report based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and Tate. The protestors said the papers demonstrated “the multiple ways in which BP has interfered in the running of the museums and galleries it sponsors”, including being involved in curatorial decision-making and museum security.
However, on 17 August the Museums Association's ethics committee found that much of the activity discussed by Art Not Oil is in fact “standard practice” for a relationship between a corporate sponsor and museum.
In a blog post the same day, Art Not Oil, said it was “disappointed” the committee did not take a “stronger line” when considering its allegations. “No interaction between BP and a cultural institution takes place in an ethical vacuum,” the protestors said. “When it comes to fossil fuels, we urgently need to go beyond ‘standard practice’, both in our cultural institutions and in society.”
The coalition group also criticised the committee’s emphasis that its “remit extends to a consideration of the relationship between a museum and a sponsor; it does not extend to commenting more generally on the global practices of BP”.
Addressing allegations that museums tipped off BP about anti-oil protests, the committee said: “It is legitimate and desirable for a museum to seek to protect its visitors, its staff, its collections and its assets when a protest is planned within the museum.” It found no evidence to suggest any institutions had prevented peaceful protests from taking place.
In response to claims by Art Not Oil that BP influenced museum programming, the committee said it is “common practice” for a museum to maintain a dialogue with a sponsor about the planning and content of an exhibition. “It is also common practice for a sponsor to be represented on a judging panel,” the committee said. It added that it recommends against “seeking direct approval on acquisitions or exhibition content, as it may create pressures to self-censor or give the appearance of undue sponsor influence”.
Art Not Oil also accused BP of using museums to further its political interests in the UK and abroad, but the ethics committee found no evidence that any of the museums mentioned “have exceeded their position in supporting a sponsor in this way”. It added: “It is standard practice for sponsorship agreements to involve a range of events, which may involve networking between different sectors.”
In March, BP announced it was ending its 26-year sponsorship of Tate next spring, blaming an “extremely challenging business environment” for its decision, rather than years of protest against its financial backing of the museum. At the end of July the oil company announced that it had renewed a five-year sponsorship deal worth £7.5m with cultural partners, including the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.