'Today the Concertgebouw celebrates the Opening Night of its orchestra's new season. On the same day, Fossil Free Culture NL makes clear that there is little to celebrate on a dying planet. Solemn, near motionless performers carrying trays with glasses of black champagne, demonstrate the dissonance between the Concertgebouw's public image and its complicity in the global crimes by Royal Dutch Shell through its acceptance of their dirty money.

Taken from https://hyperallergic.com/511052/warren-kanders-resigns/ 'After months of protest, an emerging biennial boycott, and an accusation of war crimes, Warren Kanders has resigned from his position as vice chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s board of trustees. “The targeted campaign of attacks against me and my company that has been waged these past several months has threatened to undermine the important work of the Whitney,” said Kanders in his resignation letter to the board, according to the New York

From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49006976 An Egyptian writer has resigned from the British Museum's board of trustees, claiming it is "immovable" on its sponsorship deal with oil company BP. Ahdaf Soueif also cited the museum's positions on worker relations and the repatriation of cultural artefacts as reasons for her departure. In a blog post she called on the museum "to take a clear ethical position...

From our friends at Culture Unstained: https://cultureunstained.org/2019/07/05/leading-artists-escalate-pressu… * 78 leading artists – including Turner Prize and BP Portrait Award winners – call for end to BP sponsorship at National Portrait Gallery * Letter calls on Gallery director to ‘remove the BP representative from judging panel’ * Intervention follows Mark Rylance’s resignation from RSC over BP sponsorship Pressure on the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) to drop its B

Mark Rylance has today (21.6.19) announced his resignation as an Associate Artist of the RSC over its partnership with BP.

From https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/natural-history-museum-refuses-r… 'Yesterday (19.6.19), Extinction Rebellion met with Sir Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, and his senior staff to ask them to: cancel the Petroleum Group dinner they’re hosting on Thursday 20 June, declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency and cut any and all ties with the fossil fuel industry, including renaming the Hintze Hall. The Museum rejected Extincti

Last night, BP or not BP? delayed the announcement of the award’s winner after temporarily blocking all three entrances to the Gallery. This resulted in security guards helping guests climb over a wall using two footstools. Both Peter Mather and Des Violaris from BP were there…and did not look happy. You can read the BP or not BP?

From https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/jun/12/extinction-… : 'Climate activists attempt to disrupt a BP-sponsored Royal Opera House screening of Romeo and Juliet, and put on their own version of Shakespeare’s play, Petroleo and Fueliet, as they called on the ROH to drop BP as a sponsor. ‘BP seeks to enhance its image by sponsoring culture and research shows that this approach works,’ XR said'

* Sadiq Khan called on to end permission for oil branding of Royal Opera House’s ‘BP Big Screen’ broadcasts * 200 signatories to letter include leading figures from classical, folk and popular music * News comes day after BP Portrait Award judge and respected artists denounce BP sponsorship of the prize * Extinction Rebellion group plans to mount protest this evening at first BP Big Screen of the year More here: https://cultureunstained.org/2019/06/11/200-musicians-urg