Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Members of Liberate Tate protest at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2014
Members of Liberate Tate protest at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2014. Photograph: P Nutt/Demotix/Corbis
Members of Liberate Tate protest at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2014. Photograph: P Nutt/Demotix/Corbis

BP to continue arts sponsorship deals despite cutting ties with Tate

This article is more than 8 years old

Royal Opera House, British Museum, National Gallery and Royal Shakespeare Company express commitment to renewing BP agreements

Some of the country’s biggest arts institutions have expressed a commitment to continue working with BP beyond their current sponsorship deals after the company announced it was ending its 27-year relationship with the Tate.

BP said it was terminating its sponsorship of the Tate, blaming what it called the “extremely challenging business environment” for its decision rather than years of protest against the sponsorship.

Demonstrations against the company have included activists spending 25 hours writing climate change messages on the floor of Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, as well as occupying parts of Tate Britain and tattooing each other with the numbers of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere in the year they were born.

A BP spokeswoman told the Independent that activists were “free to express their points of view but our decision wasn’t influenced by that”, adding there were no plans to end deals with other institutions including the Royal Opera House, the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

A spokesman for the National Portrait Gallery said: “The National Portrait Gallery is currently in discussion with BP about a potential future partnership beyond our current contract, which ends in 2017.”

A spokeswoman for the British Museum said it was “grateful to BP for its continuing support which has allowed the museum to bring world cultures to a global audience through hugely popular exhibitions and their associated public programmes. Discussions regarding the renewal of the sponsorship agreement are continuing.”

Tate figures released last year showed for the first time that BP had paid £3.8m to the gallery over a 17-year period, given in annual amounts of between £150,000 and £330,000 – an average of £224,000 a year. The revelation, which came after Tate lost a case at a freedom of information tribunal, turned the spotlight on BP’s sponsorship of arts institutions.

Peter Mather, BP’s UK chief, said: “The decision to end our contractual relationship with the Tate has been a very difficult one. It reflects the extremely challenging business environment in which we are operating. Over the last 27 years we have seen the Tate’s extraordinary growth and success and we are proud to have played a small part in that. We thank the Tate for their support and we wish them continued success.”

A 2010 protest outside the National Portrait Gallery, where the BP Portrait Award ceremony is held. Photograph: Akira Suemori/AP

Though the Tate said BP’s sponsorship had been an “outstanding example of patronage and collaboration over nearly 30 years”, Yasmin De Silva of art collective Liberate Tate said on Friday that it was likely that BP’s decision was “the result of the increasing public concern about climate change and the huge number of artists, members and gallery-goers speaking out”.

The Royal Opera House said it was partnered with a wide range of companies that support its work alongside Arts Council funding, commercial enterprise and philanthropy. “The income generated through corporate partnerships is vital to the mixed economy of successful arts organisations and enables each of us to deliver a rich and vibrant cultural programme,” a spokeswoman said.

“BP has, for many years, made a significant contribution to the arts and cultural life of this country, including support for the Royal Opera House since 1988. During this time, more than half a million people have enjoyed free BP Big Screens across the country – free screenings of opera and ballet live from Covent Garden.

“We are grateful to BP for their long-term commitment, sharing the vision that our artistic programmes should be made available to the widest possible audience.”

The Royal Shakespeare company said BP subsidised its £5 tickets for 16- to 25-year-olds as well as supporting the Shakespeare Pass. “We rely on a mix of income to deliver our programme to the widest audience, which includes sponsorship as well as donations, ticket sales and commercial trading alongside public funding,” a spokeswoman said.

“We do consider partners carefully and the partnership with BP has the full backing of our board. Over the last 12 years, our £5 tickets have been a big success, giving young people affordable access to our work in all locations, with over 166,894 tickets sold. BP’s support helps us to develop this further, and we continue conversations with BP about future support.”

More on this story

More on this story

  • BP shareholders revolt against CEO’s £14m pay package

  • Tate suffers blow in efforts to keep amount of BP funding secret

  • BP facing revolt over CEO's $20m pay package

  • BP boss faces shareholders angry at £13.8m pay deal

  • Tate paid 'paltry' £350k a year in BP sponsorship, figures reveal

  • BP ends sponsorship of Edinburgh international festival after 34 years

  • Institute of Directors weighs in on BP chief executive's pay award

  • BP oil spill: judge grants final approval for $20bn settlement

  • Mark Ruffalo among names calling for British Museum to drop BP sponsorship

  • BP to end Tate sponsorship after 26 years

Comments (…)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Most viewed

Most viewed