London’s British Museum is to end its 27-year sponsorship deal with oil and gas company BP this year.
The end of the partnership was first reported by the Guardian and comes after many years of environmental campaigns by activist groups such as BP or Not BP and Culture Unstained.
However, a spokesperson for the British Museum told the Art Newspaper it has “not confirmed we have ended our relationship with BP”.
“In times of reduced public funding, corporate sponsors like BP allow us to fulfil our mission to deliver unique learning experiences to our visitors,” they added.
Cultural institutions cut ties with oil and gas giant
“We have not ended our partnership with BP. BP is a valued long term supporter of the museum and our current partnership runs until this year.”
The latest five-year partnership between the British Museum and BP expired in February. It will not be extended or renewed beyond this year.
According to information acquired by Culture Unstained via freedom of information requests, the museum’s final exhibition to be sponsored by BP was ‘Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt’, which closed on 19 February.
The British Museum is one of the last cultural institutions in the UK to cut ties with BP. In 2016, Tate said it would no longer receive funding from BP following a 26-year partnership.
In 2019, National Galleries Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) ended their relationships with the oil giant.
Last year, BP and the National Portrait Gallery confirmed the end of a 30-year partnership. BP executive Louise Kingham said the company was “immensely proud of our role in championing British arts and culture”.
London’s Science Museum still has a partnership with BP. It has also attracted criticism over sponsorship deals with Shell and Equinor.
In 2021, the Science Museum announced the resignation of two trustees after announcing a new climate change gallery supported by Adani Green Energy, the solar power arm of Adani, an Indian multinational conglomerate with major holdings in coal.
Last year, the British Museum removed the Sackler name from its galleries and rooms. The Sackler family is accused of making a profit from the US opioid crisis.
