Loads has happened since the last one:
- artnotoil.org.uk &
nationalpetroleumgallery.org.uk are up

- 2 paintings were entered for the BP Portrait Award; so far, one rejected, one 'lost' (!) & we leafletted and chatted to loads of artists handing their work in on April 1st

- we had the chance to plug Art Not Oil at a fancy 'Art & Ecology' meeting at the Royal Society of Arts, and question Nicholas Serota about Tate taking BP money, (and him a patron of Art & Ecology!)

- We've had at least 5 offers of space to have the exhibition, in and out of London

- loads of artists have offered or sent in work.

- We've been asked if we can have some sort of input into the www.remembersarowiwa.com events in the lead up to the 10th anniversary of Ken's death, (Nov 10th)

...but now we need to move it on a bit, mostly to decide if and when we can have a real exhibition. I would love us to do something in London in the first two weeks of June, leading up to the opening of the Portrait Award on June 14th. Then Scotland to tie in with the G8, then back to London, then following the Portrait Award around the country...maybe...

So we're looking for some input to make that happen, as well as to help get the virtual gallery thriving nicely. Please pass the word around, and come if you can,

Cheers,

Bobby C
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ART NOT OIL 2005: A TRUER PORTRAIT OF AN OIL COMPANY?

Art Not Oil is an annual event aimed at encouraging artists to create work that explores the damage that companies like BP are doing to the planet, and the role art can play in counteracting that damage.

It is designed in part to paint a truer portrait of an oil company than the caring image manufactured by the BP Portrait Award, a search for the year's 'best' portrait which also happens to divert public attention from BP's actual activities.

Climate chaos is set to have a catastrophic effect on all of us, while hitting the poorest hardest. Oil is a curse that also fuels war, poverty and environmental destruction. Yet the companies most responsible are profiting handsomely, and they are still welcome it seems in many of our most prestigious public galleries and museums.

Art Not Oil 2005 will include paintings, photos, sculpture and other creations that address issues like climate chaos, corporate greenwash and the suicidal madness that proclaims 'profit is king' and 'money can solve any problem'. We also warmly welcome work dealing with the cancerous impact of the oil industry on the planet, and of course work that dares to imagine what solutions to these serious but not insoluble problems might look like.

We have produced a 'Call for Entries' leaflet, which looks uncannily like the one produced by the National Petroleum - sorry, Portrait - Gallery, and we have a very fetching postcard of BP boss Lord Browne, which was the People's Choice from Art Not Oil 2004. If you're able to help spread the word or are just interested for yourself, send us an address and the amount of each you'd like.

Art Not Oil 2005 will begin as a virtual gallery at www.artnotoil.org.uk, progressing we hope to a physical space at some point during the year. This could be in London or perhaps Scotland, since the G8 will be there in July, as will many thousands of protesters calling for justice, freedom and a fossil fuel-free future.

Do you know a great place for an exhibition like this, either this year or in years to come? Could you put any time into helping make it happen? Or do you have something you'd like to exhibit? If so, it would be great to hear from you.

Contact us on: 07708 794665
 info@artnotoil.org.uk
c/o 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES.
www.artnotoil.org.uk
www.nationalpetroleumgallery.org.uk
www.londonrisingtide.org.uk