News
Anti-BP Protesters Release Pirates, Merpeople, and the Kraken at the British Museum
LONDON — The irony of oil company BP sponsoring the British Museum’s current exhibition Sunken Cities will have been lost on few.
British Museum
Opinion
Art Not Oil Coalition Issues Statement on BP’s Sponsorship of UK Cultural Institutions
We received the following statement from the Art Not Oil coalition regarding the new BP sponsorships of major cultural institutions in the UK.
Art
The Many Influences and Invasions that Shaped Two Millennia of Sicilian Art
LONDON — Sicily: Culture and Conquest is one of the last exhibitions commissioned by outgoing British Museum director Neil MacGregor and encapsulates what made his tenure so valuable.
News
Arts Professionals Condemn BP’s Renewed Cultural Sponsorships in the UK
Over 200 arts professionals and scientists have signed an open letter in The Times calling for an end to BP's new, five-year sponsorship deals with four major cultural institutions in the UK.
News
British MPs Propose Bill to Return the Elgin Marbles to Greece
With the 200th anniversary this week of the July 11, 1816 purchase through an Act of Parliament of the Parthenon Marbles for the British Museum, members of parliament are introducing a bill that would repatriate the ancient artifacts.
News
Guggenheim and British Museum Refuse to Work with Human Rights Groups on Abu Dhabi Projects
Many reports have emerged of harsh labor conditions during the construction of museums on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, but the cultural institutions involved are showing no interest in discussing these violations with leading human rights groups.
News
Greenpeace Activists Climb the British Museum to Protest BP Sponsorship
Today, the British Museum received a guerrilla re-branding from activists urging it to drop its sponsorship deal with BP, an agreement now in talks for possible renewal next year.
News
Protesters Disrupt a BP-Sponsored Exhibition at the British Museum
Art activist group BP or not BP? yesterday staged a double intervention at the British Museum to protest BP's sponsorship of Sunken cities, a new exhibition showcasing artifacts from two ancient, submerged Egyptian ports.
News
Internal Documents Show How BP Oiled the Wheels at UK Museums
After sharing a handful of emails detailing suspicious correspondence between British museums and their sponsor BP, the Art Not Oil Coalition has released the full set of documents it obtained, accompanied by a 40-page report describing the potentially unethical partnerships.
In Brief
Documents Hint at BP's Undue Influence on UK Museums It Sponsors
A number of major museums in the UK, including the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery, may undergo investigation over claims that oil giant BP had sway over their operations.
News
Art Institutions Share Secrets to Kick Off #MuseumWeek
Yesterday marked the beginning of Museum Week, an annual social media campaign that gives museums around the world the opportunity to engage with the public in a number of ways.
Books
The Ghosts, Mermaids, and Beautiful Rats of Japan's Tiny Netsuke Carvings
Miniature meditating skeletons, snarling cats, eerie ghosts, and gods of fortune carved in ivory, wood, and horn adorned the sashes of Japanese men throughout the Edo period.