Shell's Wild Lie - counter exhibition and speaker tour

Could you sign on to a statement opposing this sponsorship?

If you agree with us that this is a ridiculous situation, here’s what you can do:

1.) Sign on to this statement which we will publicise online to help build the pressure on the Natural History Museum (NHM). Send your name to us at  info@artnotoil.org.uk:

‘Despite attempts to ‘greenwash’ its reputation via blanket advertising and cultural sponsorship, Shell is still heavily implicated in producing ever-greater quantities of the oil and gas that are destabilising our climate to such an alarming degree. Climate change is set to wipe out millions of plant and animal species, and to devastate the poorest regions of the planet. Shell’s activities also result in oil spills which are major causes of death and destruction for many varieties of marine life. Lastly, Shell is currently constructing a massive development at Sakhalin Island in Russia which is threatening the survival of the Western Pacific grey whale.

For all these reasons, Shell should not be sponsoring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. We call on the Natural History Museum to end its sponsorship deal with Shell.’

2.) Help get the word out, either with more copies of our postcard, or by contacting people – particularly photographers – who might be up for helping out or contributing images. That work could be images of wildlife affected by oil or threatened by climate change, or of communities directly affected by Big Oil.

3.) Tell NHM boss Michael Dixon directly what you think of Shell (not to mention BP, which is a Museum partner):  m.dixon@nhm.ac.uk, 020 7942 5000.

We believe there can be a greener and fairer future for the planet and its people, a future that will require in part the consigning of the oil industry to the history books. Our campaign hopes to be one small step in that direction. Thanks for reading, and for anything you’re able to do.

Art Not Oil/London Rising Tide, c/o 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES.
Tel: 07708 794665  info@artnotoil.org.uk
www.shelloiledwildlife.org.uk www.artnotoil.org.uk www.londonrisingtide.org.uk

we are organising a counter tour to Shell's Wildlife Photographer of the year Exhibition to highlight the crass discrepancy between what shell say, effectively - (that they promote in good spirit cultural and environmental events) and what they do (inflict irrevocable devastion on communities worldwide) with the objective that the Natural History Museum will withdraw them from their pool of sponsorship.. and that ever growing numbers of people will see through the veneer of greenwash they constrew time and again.

Shell is the third largest oil company in the world. It is also the new sponsor of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.
Shell’s core - and growing - business is rooted in oil and gas production. It seems to have decided that pumping a tiny percentage of its profits into sponsoring places like the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London will divert your attention from this globally suicidal fact… which is hopefully where we the “London Rising Tide” come in, pointing a spotlight at the growing gulf between what they say (a language known as ‘greenwash’) and what they do. We run a campaign/exhibition called ‘Art Not Oil’. As part of it, we are working with other environmental groups to persuade the NHM and its visitors that Shell is an inappropriate partner for the Wildlife Photographer Competition. The campaign will include our own travelling photography exhibition aptly entitled “Shell’s Wild Lie” in October 2006 and beyond, it will be accompanied by speakers from Shell-affected communities in Mayo, the Niger Delta and South Africa. The tour will visit LARC in London on October 16th, Imperial College London 17th, Birmingham 19th & Manchester 20th. We request photographic contributions so please let your pictures tell the true story. Images could show affected wildlife and/or places or indeed creative suatainable alternatives for land use - such as the camp in Rossport earnestly exemplifies, be your own curator! As well some caption just to give a reference would be sound. You can email images to  info@artnotoil.org.uk or  info@londonrisingtide.org.uk and remember in order to print large enough images they’ll need quite a high resolution. We hope to print on fri afternoon. We will keep at it until Shell is no longer welcome in the NHM. We have recently been thinking that it'd be great to bring this tour around Ireland next year so have a think and hopefully with can talk to our comrades from Mayo next week. For more information please visit www.shelloiledwildlife.org.uk. Our thoughts are with ye in Mayo – neart libh don laethanta crua.