London Rising Tide and friends will be on hand to question guests arriving at the National Portrait Gallery 21.6.04 for the announcement of the winner of this year’s BP National Portrait Award. All are welcome. Bring a portrait on a placard, or similar, or a slogan, or just yourself.
london@risingtide.org.uk
Contact LRT on 07708 794665
The question? ‘According to a recent Pentagon report, global warming now presents a greater threat to human life than global terrorism – so why are we still going to art galleries sponsored by oil companies?’
This question will be posed in a visually and aurally arresting manner, assisted by portraits revealing the true corrupted face of BP & Big Oil .
Also, the squatted gallery at 50 Chalk Farm Road NW1 is now likely to be open until Saturday 26th June. This space is packed to the rafters with oil industry-exposing artworks, some gathered from hither and thither, and some painted onsite.
Background:
London Rising Tide, a grassroots group taking direct action against the root causes of climate change, is joining forces with artists to express anger over the role of BP in intensifying global climate change and human rights abuses around the world. During the past two years, as part of its campaign against BP’s hugely controversial Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, LRT has disrupted BP AGMs, presentations by both BP's boss, Lord Browne, and its Chairman, brought Caspian carve-up conferences to a standstill and targeted BP-sponsored locations such as Tate Britain, Natural History Museum and the Royal Opera House.
Martin Doyle (a participating artist) stated ‘as an artist I’m appalled by BP’s sponsorship of the arts, which gives the impression that the art world condones the company’s activities around the world’. LRT activists point out that in previous years the NPA was sponsored by John Player, a tobacco company, and it appears oil companies have followed suit. Sarah Newby (LRT) suggests ‘it’s time to meet the increased corporate hijack of the arts with defiant creativity, time to kick the corporations out of our galleries, museums and theatres!’
Visit the ‘not the NPG’ exhibition space at 50 Chalk Farm Road NW1, (Chalk Farm tube)
If you would like to register your interest in covering the story, contact LRT at london@risingtide.org.uk or on 07708 794665
More information on LRT and the Exhibition of Resistance can be found at http://www.londonrisingtide.org.uk/ and http://www.londonrisingtide.org.uk/portrait/index.htm
See also www.risingtide.org.uk and www.baku.org.uk
The 1st Annual Exhibition of Resistance to Big Oil and the Corporate Hijacking of ‘the Arts’ continues…
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