Publication Date: July 26 2010
Sureblades has been driven by Sean McDonagh, an RMT member and one of the sacked Vestas workers involved in the occupation where he ran operations from outside the gates. With the assistance of RMT officials, Sean and his colleagues set up meetings with Government officials and development agencies to put together the Sureblades business plan in tandem with Keith Hounsell who already installs turbines across the south.
Sureblades aims to begin the manufacture of micro-turbine blades in Newport on the Isle of Wight by late September and the company expects to have capacity to mould blades up to 12m long. They will be using cutting edge technology which will mean that the blades are 100% recyclable unlike conventional blades which have to be burnt or dumped in landfill.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
"The former Vestas workers behind this imaginative new project have completely destroyed the argument put forward by the company at the time of closure that there was no market for UK manufactured turbine blades. Through their efforts to create jobs they have blown apart the bogus grounds put forward at the time for closure and redundancy of the workforce.
"RMT is very proud of what our former Vestas members have achieved so far and we are right behind them. They have also shown that it is far too easy for companies in the UK to soak up Government grants and then just cut and run when it suits them without any meaningful consultation, never mind a ballot of the workforce.
"We are also very pleased that the planned new operation will be RMT organised and that officials of this trade union have helped open the doors and make the contacts which have turned this project into a reality. But the real credit lies with the determination and solidarity of the workers who refused to accept that they were beaten. They are an inspiration."
ENDS
Monday, 26 July 2010
Friday, 23 July 2010
No to Welfare Abolition south east regional conference
Saturday 4 September from 1pm
Navarino Mansions community hall, Hackney
No to Welfare Abolition is a network of unemployed workers groups & benefit campaigners.
http://groups.google.com/group/no-to-welfare-abolition?pli=1
The regional conference will include groups from around the south east & London,
including the Brighton Benefits Campaign.
We would very much like to contact other campaigning groups who would be interested
in joining the network & attending the conference.
If you know of a group in your area please pass on the details
- the more we can join up the fight, the more likely we are to succeed.
Benefits are under attack! Fight back!
in solidarity
Pip
--
Pip Tindall
Brighton & Hove Green Party
Brighton Benefits Campaign
http://brightonbenefitscampaign.wordpress.com/
Brighton Workers Solidarity Group
http://brightonworkerssolidarity.wordpress.com/
No to Welfare Abolition is a network of unemployed workers groups & benefit campaigners.
http://groups.google.com/group/no-to-welfare-abolition?pli=1
The regional conference will include groups from around the south east & London,
including the Brighton Benefits Campaign.
We would very much like to contact other campaigning groups who would be interested
in joining the network & attending the conference.
If you know of a group in your area please pass on the details
- the more we can join up the fight, the more likely we are to succeed.
Benefits are under attack! Fight back!
in solidarity
Pip
--
Pip Tindall
Brighton & Hove Green Party
Brighton Benefits Campaign
http://brightonbenefitscampaign.wordpress.com/
Brighton Workers Solidarity Group
http://brightonworkerssolidarity.wordpress.com/
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Strike back against homophobic, racist tabloids
Tell the Daily Express, Daily Mail and Daily Star - LGBT asylum seekers are welcome here
Dear comrades
Following the homophobic witch hunt against asylum seekers in the tabloids yesterday we have initiated a statement calling for a full retraction and a protest outside of the Daily Express offices Thursday 15th July, 5.-6.30pm. In times of crisis we know there will be more attempts to divide us by whipping up bigoted ideas. But there has been widespread anger yesterdays newspapers with our statement and protest attracting widespread support already including from the NUJ Gen Sec and many members, UCU LGBT committee, NUS LGBT and Black student campaigns and more. We must take a stand against any attempted anti-gay backlash but also use this opportunity to win arguments in defence of asylum seekers and refugees.
Please circulate the statement widely and get backing from individuals, organisations and union branches. Send names to noroomforhomophobes@gmail.com
Bring people and banners to the protest on Thursday 15th July
Check out facebook groups
“No room for gays? No room for homophobes” http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133406423360622#!/group.php?gid=137196942964613&v=wall&ref=ts
Plus event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133406423360622#!/event.php?eid=133406423360622&ref=mf
In solidarity
Hannah Dee
Statement: Tell the Daily Express, Daily Mail and Daily Star - LGBT asylum seekers are welcome here
We condemn the disgraceful homophobic comments in the Daily Star, Daily Mail and Daily Express which attack the recent Supreme Court decision to prevent the deportation of two gay asylum seekers back to Iran and Cameroon.
The Express front page on 8th June headlined “Now asylum if You’re Gay: they must be free to go to Kylie concerts and drink multi-coloured cocktails, says judge”. The Daily Mail asked “What planet is he on?” and called his decision to give home to gay asylum seekers “infantile”. The Daily Star carried an editorial titled ‘No room for gays’ which claimed “opening the floodgates to gay asylum seekers is absolute madness.” (see links to articles below)
The reality is very different. Homosexuality is still illegal in over 80 countries world wide. LGBT people seeking asylum in the UK are often fleeing attempted murder, serious assault or rape. Only this month a young gay man has been sentenced to death in Iran. In 2003 a gay Iranian man who had been refused asylum in the UK poured petrol over his body and set light to himself in the offices of Refugee Action in Manchester rather than go back to Iran.
Stonewall's recent report "No Going Back” reveals that only 1 in 50 people who claim asylum on the basis of their sexual orientation is admitted to the UK with applicants frequently being told by the UK authorities that they can avoid attacks by being "discreet" in their country of origin - that is, by lying about their sexuality for the rest of their life.
Abbey Kiwanuka from Uganda where there are moves to introduce the death penalty for homosexuality, said: “This (recent decision) gives me hope …..I feared for my life in Uganda. Just two weeks ago a gay man was beheaded. I lost my appeal because the court said I should go back and live a discreet life. I can’t do that. It’s impossible to do. ”
The only motivation in these tabloid articles is to whip up hatred and division. They want to weaken our support for persecuted people and use asylum seekers and LGBT people as scapegoats to divert attention from an economic crisis we did not create. This is designed to undermine opposition to the cuts which their rich friends want to force on us.
It also risks intensifying homophobia in Britain at a time when reports have shown an increase in reported homophobic attacks of up to 63%. The brutal murder of Ian Baynham in central London last Autumn is a terrible and tragic reminder of where this can lead.
We remember Jan Moir’s homophobic article in the Daily Mail following Stephen Gately’s death in which she claimed “Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one” and questioned civil partnerships. Despite a record 22,000 complaints, including one made by Gately’s former partner, the Press Complaints Commission found no case to answer. This cannot be allowed to happen again.
We demand an apology and retraction of the vile views published in The Daily Star, Daily Express and Daily Mail and that they publish the truth about the persecution which LGBT refugees and asylum seekers face in their home countries, and about homophobia here in Britain.
We urge you to write to the papers’ editors, post comments online and register a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission.
We also support calls for a protest outside the Daily Express Thursday 15th July, 5-6.30pm.
Supported by: Supported by Love Music Hate Homophobia, Jeremy Dear NUJ Gen Sec, Michelle Stanistreet Dep Gen Sec NUJ UCU LGBT members committee, Elly Barnes LGBY history month/Schools Out, Vicki Baars & Alan Bailey NUS LGBT campaign, Socialist Workers Party, Richard Simcox National press officer PCS, Mark Bergfeld NUS NEC, Aaron Kiely NUS Black students campaign, Stow College Student Association, Sean Fox Branch Sec Haingey UNISON, Robert Goddard Youth and Education Officer Stonewall Cymru, Dave Toomer NUJ NEC rep for North West England, Steven Bird, deputy FoC, Katie Carnie, chapel officer, David Crouch, FoC. from NUJ Financial Times, Jason Brown LGBT rep NUS Black students campaign, Jess Hurd Chair NUJ London Photographers' Branch and many more. All individuals in a personal capacity.
To add your name please email: noroomforhomophobes@gmail.com
Homophobic Articles
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Academies - Urgent Action Required Protest on July 19th
Academies - Urgent Action Required
Protest on July 19th Anti Academies Alliance backs the 19th July lobby of Parliament called by education unions. On the second reading of the Academies Bill, Monday 19th July, The education unions have called a lobby of Parliament over the cuts in the Building Schools for the Future programme. While Michael Gove is slashing the rebuilding of hundreds of schools around the country he is promising extra money for any school that becomes an Academy, and to anybody who wants to open a ‘Free’ school. The crisis over BSF is intimately linked with the Academies programme. In many places Academies were forced on Local Authorities in order to secure BSF funding. In some areas all that remains are projects to build Academies. The divisive nature of this highlights our concerns about the tendency towards greater social segregation. We are also concerned that the government will use the October comprehensive spending review to put academies and 'free' schools at the top of the priority list.
But our main focus remains the Academies Bill which gets its second reading on the 19th July. This bill seeks to develop a 'revolution' in education policy by which academies become 'the norm'. As it stands, the Bill denies parents (or staff and the local community) the right to any consultation over the decision to seek academy status. It paves the way for an unprecedented deregulation and privatisation of schools. It will create the conditions for the undermining of Local Authority support for schools in vital areas such as SEN, admissions and behaviour. It will prevent the rational planning of school places in the future allowing dis-economies of scale to develop. The new 'free' schools it will encourage will mean other schools have to close.
The AAA urges anti academies campaigns around the country to mobilise for the lobby. We urge parents to join with us.
The future of a good local school for every child is in question. Let's ensure our voices are heard. Rally at Methodist Central hall, opposite Parliament 1pm, 19th July, followed by lobby of MPs. Campaigning against the Academies Bill Around the country teachers, school staff and parents are campaigning to persuade schools that have expressed an interest becoming an Academy to change their mind.
Protest on July 19th Anti Academies Alliance backs the 19th July lobby of Parliament called by education unions. On the second reading of the Academies Bill, Monday 19th July, The education unions have called a lobby of Parliament over the cuts in the Building Schools for the Future programme. While Michael Gove is slashing the rebuilding of hundreds of schools around the country he is promising extra money for any school that becomes an Academy, and to anybody who wants to open a ‘Free’ school. The crisis over BSF is intimately linked with the Academies programme. In many places Academies were forced on Local Authorities in order to secure BSF funding. In some areas all that remains are projects to build Academies. The divisive nature of this highlights our concerns about the tendency towards greater social segregation. We are also concerned that the government will use the October comprehensive spending review to put academies and 'free' schools at the top of the priority list.
But our main focus remains the Academies Bill which gets its second reading on the 19th July. This bill seeks to develop a 'revolution' in education policy by which academies become 'the norm'. As it stands, the Bill denies parents (or staff and the local community) the right to any consultation over the decision to seek academy status. It paves the way for an unprecedented deregulation and privatisation of schools. It will create the conditions for the undermining of Local Authority support for schools in vital areas such as SEN, admissions and behaviour. It will prevent the rational planning of school places in the future allowing dis-economies of scale to develop. The new 'free' schools it will encourage will mean other schools have to close.
The AAA urges anti academies campaigns around the country to mobilise for the lobby. We urge parents to join with us.
The future of a good local school for every child is in question. Let's ensure our voices are heard. Rally at Methodist Central hall, opposite Parliament 1pm, 19th July, followed by lobby of MPs. Campaigning against the Academies Bill Around the country teachers, school staff and parents are campaigning to persuade schools that have expressed an interest becoming an Academy to change their mind.
- Write to your MP
To write directly to your local MP on amending the Academies Bill to ensure proper consultation go to the 38 Degrees Site
Martin Francis, Brent Green Party Spokesperson on Children. Families and Schools
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Growing opposition to the Academies Bill
The opposition to the Academies Bill continues to grow.
The number of MPs signing the EDM has reached 68, with many Labour MPs demanding consultation before schools can become Academies.
The Children’s Services Network and Local Government Information Unit have produced a useful briefing.
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/opposing-the-academies-bill/academiesbill-aspecialbriefingbythechildren%E2%80%99sservicesnetwork
The Anti Academies Alliance public meeting in London last week saw 250 people pack the room. Alongside the excellent platform speakers from the floor included a Headteacher, chair of governors, and teachers organizing against Academy proposals in their schools. There have been meetings around the country, with many more to follow.
In Calderdale parents are organizing to save their school http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/headlines/greetlandprimaryschoolparentssetupactiongrouptosaveschool
In Brent protestors gathered outside Claremont High School to leaflet and protest
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/headlines ( see update from Martin Francis below)
These are examples of what could be done at every school that threatens to become an Academy.
Meetings against the Academies Bill
· Wakefield - A fair school system for all
* Trafford and Salford - Defend State Education
* Alliance Against Birmingham Academies meeting
* Manchester - Briefing meeting on the Academies Bill and Free Schools
* Cornwall - no more academies
* Norwich - Defend State Education
Anti Academies Newspaper – reprinting already
The first print run of the newspaper has run out and we have ordered a reprint.
We want to get this to parents in as many schools as possible, particularly if their school may be interested in becoming an Academy.
Free to parents groups, £3 per hundred to union groups (plus postage).
Please order newspapers as soon as possible, we can invoice union branches.
Download a copy here http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/news/antiacademiesnewspaper
Order form available here
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/news/newspaperorderform
If you are posting an order for the newspaper please also send us an email so we can send it out as quickly as possible.
Write to your MP
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/academies
EDM 135
Please ask your MP to add their name to this Early Day Motion. Currently 68 MPs have signed it.
EDM 135 PROPOSED ACADEMIES LEGISLATION 02.06.2010
Sign our Petition
here Petition Please download and circulate the petition
Please return the petition as soon as possible. Those that have been returned so far have pages filled. Thanks.
Anti Academies Alliance financial appeal
The work of the Anti Academies Alliance is supported by affliations, donations and voluntary labour.
You can help by:
Asking your organization to make a donation to the Anti Academies Alliance
checking that your organisation is affiliated or has reaffiliated;
by signing a standing order form for £2 a month;
posting the bulletin on your staffroom noticeboard or forwarding it;
putting a link to the website on your Facebook page.
Affiliation leaflet and Standing Order mandate - https://sites.google.com/a/antiacademies.org.uk/aaa/Home/affiliate
News
Wealthy to dominate Academies
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6049283
TES cover story – Academies: An issue that’s not clear cut
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6049354
Lib Dem councillor says 'Academising' our primary schools will not solve parents' problems
http://richmondlibdems.co.uk/news/002853/academising_our_primary_schools_will_not_solve_parents_problems__eady.html
Brent Council letter to schools
http://www.antiacademies.org.uk/Home/opposing-the-academies-bill/brentcouncillettertoschools
Having trouble keeping up with the news on Academies and Free Schools?
You can follow the Anti Academies Alliance on
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Anti-Academies-Alliance/178831804728?ref=ts
Twitter - http://twitter.com/antiacademies
RSS feed - http://feedity.com/rss.aspx/antiacademies-org-uk/UVFTW1JS
CLAREMONT ACADEMY (Brent) update from Martin Francis
The Governing Body of Claremont High School has acted after contradictory statements from the headteacher over applying for academy status. Terry Malloy's statements to the press had ranged from the tentative to the gung-ho and resulted in an anti-academy demonstration outside the school. Reading between the lines it appears that there might have been a good old-fashioned row on the governing body.
A statement published in the Harrow Times said:
"The discussion was full and frank. At this point in time, the governing body has concluded that no expression of interest in pursuing academy status will be made and the school will continue to explore the specific and wider implications of academy status to be better informed."
As Brent Green Party spokesperson on Children, Families and Schools I welcome the governing body's statement which indicates that they have recognised their democratic responsibilities and the need to be accountable to the wider community. I hope that after due deliberation they will reject the academy option on the grounds that it would undermine central services provided by the local authority, take money from other schools, and remove democratic accountability.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Derbyshire cuts leaflet (please adapt; acknowledgements to Peter Allen)
The Green Party Manifesto offered the electorate an economic programme that would reduce our national debt without cutting vital public services. This programme is the Green New Deal.
It is a response to the triple crisis that the world now faces:
A financial crisis caused by the uncontrolled speculation of international bankers, including many based in the City of London
An energy crisis as the supply of oil peaks, and remaining reserves become more damaging and dangerous and expensive to extract
A climate crisis driven by burning fossil fuels, resulting in increased global temperatures, threatening the very survival of humanity.
The Green New Deal proposed a major investment in energy conservation and renewable energy, creating thousands of sustainable jobs.
It proposed the serious regulation of the financial sector to prevent the reckless behaviour that led to the financial crisis, while ensuring that low cost finance was available for the construction of a low carbon economy.
The Green Party showed in its manifesto that it is possible to reduce our deficit while putting more people to work, protecting public services, and ensuring that the tax burden falls on those who can afford to pay.
Caroline Lucas, newly elected Green Party MP in Brighton
“Cuts are not an economic inevitability. They are an ideological choice. Politicians of all parties are now sharpening their axes to slash public spending, forcing those on lower incomes, who depend on public services the most, to pay the highest price for the recent excesses of the bankers.
That’s the challenge I’m issuing: for that political choice to be made. It must be clearly asserted that we are not all in this together: that some had more responsibility for this crisis than others, and some benefited more from the boom that preceded it. Those who enjoyed the largest benefits must pay up now. There is a choice. We should ask those best able to pay to foot the bill through fairer taxation. For that to happen, fair taxes, not cuts, must become the new big idea to replace today’s callous and uncaring cuts fanaticism.”
Only The Green Party has the policies and principles required to address the problems facing Britain
For more information visit http://www.greenparty.org.uk and http://derbyshiregreenparty.org.uk
Thursday, 1 July 2010
UNPRECEDENTED COALITION FROM THE ARTS CONDEMNS BP SPONSORSHIP OF THE TATE
UNPRECEDENTED COALITION FROM THE ARTS CONDEMNS BP SPONSORSHIP OF THE TATE
171 FIGURES FROM THE ARTS SIGN LETTER ON THE DAY TATE CELEBRATES 20
YEARS OF BP FUNDING
A letter was published today signed by 171 figures from the art world condemning BP's sponsorship of cultural institutions in the UK. The letter has been published on the day that Tate Britain is hosting a party to celebrate 20 years of BP's sponsorship. [1] A group of artists under the banner of 'The Good Crude Britannia' are planning on protesting outside the event, and will be handing out the "Licence to Spill' briefing to people attending the party. [2]
Arts/activist organisation Platform [3] has gathered 171 signatories from the international arts community, for a letter that says:
"As crude oil continues to devastate coastlines and communities in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives will be enjoying a cocktail reception with curators and artists in the Tate Britain. These relationships enable big oil companies to mask the environmentally destructive nature of their activities with the social legitimacy
that is associated with such high profile cultural associations." [4]
Some of the signatories include:
*Hans Haacke, German-American conceptual artist whose work has featured on numerous occasions in Tate exhibitions
*John Keane, who was the official British war artist during the first Gulf War and who was a judge on the 2004 BP-sponsored portrait award at the National Portrait Gallery
*Sonia Boyce, MBE, whose works are held in the collection of the Tate Modern
Hans Haacke, one of the signatories said: "Since taxpayers (through their elected representatives) do not adequately fund cultural institutions, it has become routine for corporate sponsors with PR needs to fill the gap. This arrangement often creates conflicts between the public good and a sponsor's agenda. It is rare, however, that these conflicts are recognized and publicly debated, as it is now with BP and the Tate Gallery."
Electronic artist Matthew Herbert, also a signatory said: "The oily tentacles of both BP and Shell have wrapped themselves around our most prestigious cultural institutions and at a time when urgent action is required to slow consumption of fossil fuels. In trading our cultural legacies so nakedly for such tainted cash, some of Britain's most powerful stages for creative expression have knowingly undermined the very integrity of that expression."
Kevin Smith from Platform said: "This letter is testament to the extent of the discomfort felt in the arts by the Tate's ongoing relationship with BP. The ongoing ecological catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico should be the game changer that finally ends the ability of the oil industry to legitimise itself through arts and cultural sponsorship."
ENDS
For interviews and more information:
On Sunday 27 June, call 0207 700 7971
On Monday call Platform: 0207 403 3738 or 07790 430 620 /
info@platformlondon.org
Some of the signatories are available for comment
www.platformlondon.org
NOTES FOR EDITORS
[1] News of the party was first leaked on Thursday. See the PR; 'Leaked invite reveals Tate's ill-timed plans to celebrate BP; sponsorship' at http://blog.platformlondon.org/content/leaked-invite; reveals-tate's-ill-timed-plans-celebrate-bp-sponsorship
[2] The Good Crude Britannia is a national artists' campaign against BP sponsorship of Tate. We are calling all concerned artists to; either sign the petition and/or support the 'campaign' which is to be: launched on Monday 28th June 2010 at Tate Britain's Summer Party, 7-9pm. http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/group.php?gid=126083700763469; 'Licence to Spill' is available at: http://www.carbonweb.org/showitem.asp?article=381&parent=39
[3] Platform works across disciplines for social and ecological; justice. It combines the transformatory power of art with the; tangible goals of campaigning, the rigour of in-depth research with; the vision to promote alternative futures.
[4] The letter and full list of signatories:
Tonight, the Tate is holding a summer party in which it is also celebrating 20 years of BP sponsorship. As crude oil continues to devastate coastlines and communities in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives will be enjoying a cocktail reception with curators and artists in the Tate Britain. These relationships enable big oil
> companies to mask the environmentally destructive nature of their activities with the social legitimacy that is associated with such high profile cultural associations.
We represent a cross section of people from the arts community that believe that the BP logo represents a stain on Tate's international reputation. Many artists are angry that Tate and other national cultural institutions continue to side step the issue of oil sponsorship. Little more than a decade ago, tobacco companies were seen as respectable partners for public institutions to gain support from - that is no longer the case. It is our hope that oil and gas will soon be seen in the same light. The public is rapidly coming to recognise that the sponsorship programmes of BP and Shell are means by which attention can be distracted from their impacts on human rights, the environment and the global climate.
1.Hans Haacke, artist
2. John Keane, artist
3. Caryl Churchill, playwright
4. Matthew Herbert, electronic artist and composer
5. Suzi Gablik, art critic and writer
6. Gordon Roddick, art philanthopist
7. Rebecca Solnit, writer and art critic
8. Lucy R. Lippard, writer and curator
9. Davey Anderson, playwright
10. Adam Chodzko, artist
11. Beverly Naidus, artist and professor
12. Suzanne Lacy, artist
13. Chris Jordan, artist
14. Cat Phillipps, artist
15. Martin Rowson, cartoonist
16. Robert Newman, comedian and writer
17. Sonia Boyce, artist, MBE
18. Barbara Steveni, artist & initiator of Artist Placement Group
19. Peter Fend, artist
20. SaiMuRai (Simon Murray), writer, poet, artist
21. Ackroyd & Harvey, artists
22. Aidan Jolly, musician, community artist
23. Jon Sack, artist
24. Matthew Lee Knowles, composer
25. Theodore Price, artist
26. Scott Massey, artist
27. Ben Mellor, writer, performer, educator
28. The Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home, artist collective
29. David Haley FRSA, ecological artist and Senior Research Fellow
30. Alana Jelinek, artist & curator
31. Rachel Anderson, creative producer
32. John Volynchook, photographer
33. Jackie Brookner, artist
34. Suzanne Lacy, artist
35. Neil Callaghan, artist
36. Jonathan Baxter, artist and arts organizer
37. Mark McGowan, artist
38. Catrin Evans, artistic director and theatre practitioner
39. James Stenhouse, artist
40. Charlie Fox, artist and producer
41. Roxanne Permar, artist
42. Jane Lawson, artist
43. John Jordan, artist and writer
44. Hemant Anant Jain, illustrator
45. The Space Hijackers, art interventionists
46. Clare Patey artist/curator
47. Matthias von Hartz, Director Hamburg International Festival
48. Lois Keidan, Live art Development Agency
49. Lucy Neal, artist and producer
50. Lise Autogena, artist
51. Marcelo Expósito, artist and critic
52. Steve Duncombe, cultural theorist/writer
53. Cameron Davis, artist and professor of art at Vermont University
54. Kim Stringfellow, artist/associate professor, SDSU
55. Ros Martin, poet and playwright
56. Amy Balkin, artist
57. John Hartley, artist
58. Amber Hickey, artist
59. Christian Nold, artist
60. Isabeau Doucet, painter
61. Jean Grant, creative director
62. Hayley Newman, artist
63. Christian de Sousa, artist and photographer
64. Immo Klink, artist
65. Susan Kelly, artist and art lecturer
66. Aviv Kruglanski, artist
67. Steve Stuffit, artist
68. Helen Spackman, artistic director and senior lecturer in performing arts
69. Lorena Rivero de Beer, artist
70. Janey Hunt, artist
71. Gregory Sholette, artist and writer
72. Mem Morrison, artistic director
73. Lars Kwakkenbos, artist and writer
74. Tom Besley, producer
75. PLATFORM, arts/activist organization
76. Fran Crowe, artist
77. Sharon Salazar, filmmaker/director
78. Leah Gordon, photographer, filmmaker and curator
79. Alke Schmidt, artist
80. Monika Vykoukal, curator
81. CJ Mitchell, deputy director of Live Art Development Agency
82. Julian Maynard Smith, director of Station House Opera
83. Sue Palmer, artist
84. Brett Bloom, artist
85. Kerry Burton, artist
86. The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, art/activist collective
87. Anna Francis, artist
88. Ana Betancour, artist and architect
89. Simone Paterson, new media artist and academic
90. Ian Teh, photographer
91. Alejandro Meitin, artist
92. Simone Kenyon, artist and producer
93. Milena Placentile, curator
94. Nick Turner, artist and designer
95. Fabio Sassi, artist
96. Ruth Ewan, artist
97. Raoul Martinez, artist
98. Robert McAdam, painter
99. Katy Fattuhi, arts marketer
100. John Holt, artist and writer
101. Katy Hallett, Director, Art Programme
102. Judy Price, artist
103. Stephanie Thieullent, photographer, artist
104. Felix Gonzales, filmmaker, artist
105. Rafael Santos, artist
106. Adrian Arbib, photographer
107. Ian Hunter, Director, Littoral
108. Ele Carpenter, curator
109. Helene Aylon, activist artist
110. Pamela Graham, artist
111. Louise Jones, director, Lemon Street Gallery
112. Ciel Bergman, artist/environmental activist
113. Glauco Bermudez, Cinematographer
114. Marianne Soisalo, artist
115. Mariana Bassani, photographer
116. Michele Petillo, artist
117. Siobhan Mckeown, artist
118. ZEV, tex/sound artist
119. Mira Schor, artist and writer
120. Judith Knight, Director, Artsadmin
121. Gill Lloyd, Director, Artsadmin
123. Danielle Frank, artist
124. Stuart Bracewell, artist.
125. Beverley Dale, Digital Artist
126. Vahida Ramujkic, Artist
127. Mark Vallen - painter, printmaker, writer
128. Toni Martinez-Solera, artist
129. Lucy Fairley, Artist
130. Noel Douglas artist, designer, activist
131. Gareth Evans, writer and curator
132. Stevphen Shukaitis, arts /media/cultural publisher
133. Kuljit Chuhan, Creative producer and digital media artist
134. Calum F. Kerr, artist
135. Lisa Wesley, artist
136. Jody Boehnert, designer, artist and writer
137. Heide Fasnacht, visual artist
138. Michelle Jaffé, artist
139. Jan Brooks, artist
140. Peter Harrison, propeller arts collective
141. Deanne Belinoff, artist
142. Michelle Waters, artist
143. Fern Shaffer, artist
144. Harmony Hammond, artist and art writer
145. Simon Whetham, sound artist
146. Mimi Poskitt, director
147. Micheala Crimmin, curator and critic
148. Wallace Heim, writer and academic
149. Ciel Bergman, painter
150. Ali Sparror - artist
151. Lucy Reeves - Film designer
152. The Vacuum Cleaner, art/activist,
153. Robby Herbst, artist
154. Anja Steidinger, visual artist
155. Claire Hildreth, photographer
156. Loraine Leeson, artist
157. Kayle Brandon, artist
158. Peter Offord, artist
159. Julie Green, painter
160. Murray Wason, artist
161. Christina Moore, production designer
162. Emma Byron, artist and performer
163. Miche Fabre Lewin, artist-cuisiuniere
164. Kate Rich, artist
165. Madeleine Hodge, artist and curator
166. Kirstin Forkert, artist
167. Martin Nakell, poet, fictionalist
168. Liam Hurley, writer, theatre director, story teller
169. Mike Perry, artist
170. Phil Maxwell & Hazuan Hashim, artists
171. Greg Pact, artist
NEW REPORT: 'Cashing in on Tar Sands' reveals RBS is UK bank most involved in financing loans to tar sands companies. http://bit.ly/aqi9pQ;
SHAPING THE FUTURE: PLATFORM and The Stephen Lawrence Centre have teamed up to launch an exciting new programme of events and courses. http://bit.ly/29uzrA
NOT SUCH A ROSY DEAL AFTER ALL: PLATFORM Leaks Uganda's Oil Contracts. http://bit.ly/5AFMFa
PLATFORM London ; 7 Horselydown Lane ; London SE1 2LN
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7403 3738
> Email: info@platformlondon.org
> Web: http://platformlondon.org
> Blog: http://blog.platformlondon.org
>
> PLATFORM is a company limited by guarantee no. 2658515 and a
> registered charity no 1044485.
> --
> Art Not Oil: for creativity, climate justice and an end to fossil fuel
> industry sponsorship of the arts.
> c/o 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES; 07709 545116
> www.artnotoil.org.uk - send us your art!
> www.risingtide.org.uk
> See also www.climatecamp.org.uk
> as well as Climate Indymedia: climateimc.org
>
171 FIGURES FROM THE ARTS SIGN LETTER ON THE DAY TATE CELEBRATES 20
YEARS OF BP FUNDING
A letter was published today signed by 171 figures from the art world condemning BP's sponsorship of cultural institutions in the UK. The letter has been published on the day that Tate Britain is hosting a party to celebrate 20 years of BP's sponsorship. [1] A group of artists under the banner of 'The Good Crude Britannia' are planning on protesting outside the event, and will be handing out the "Licence to Spill' briefing to people attending the party. [2]
Arts/activist organisation Platform [3] has gathered 171 signatories from the international arts community, for a letter that says:
"As crude oil continues to devastate coastlines and communities in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives will be enjoying a cocktail reception with curators and artists in the Tate Britain. These relationships enable big oil companies to mask the environmentally destructive nature of their activities with the social legitimacy
that is associated with such high profile cultural associations." [4]
Some of the signatories include:
*Hans Haacke, German-American conceptual artist whose work has featured on numerous occasions in Tate exhibitions
*John Keane, who was the official British war artist during the first Gulf War and who was a judge on the 2004 BP-sponsored portrait award at the National Portrait Gallery
*Sonia Boyce, MBE, whose works are held in the collection of the Tate Modern
Hans Haacke, one of the signatories said: "Since taxpayers (through their elected representatives) do not adequately fund cultural institutions, it has become routine for corporate sponsors with PR needs to fill the gap. This arrangement often creates conflicts between the public good and a sponsor's agenda. It is rare, however, that these conflicts are recognized and publicly debated, as it is now with BP and the Tate Gallery."
Electronic artist Matthew Herbert, also a signatory said: "The oily tentacles of both BP and Shell have wrapped themselves around our most prestigious cultural institutions and at a time when urgent action is required to slow consumption of fossil fuels. In trading our cultural legacies so nakedly for such tainted cash, some of Britain's most powerful stages for creative expression have knowingly undermined the very integrity of that expression."
Kevin Smith from Platform said: "This letter is testament to the extent of the discomfort felt in the arts by the Tate's ongoing relationship with BP. The ongoing ecological catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico should be the game changer that finally ends the ability of the oil industry to legitimise itself through arts and cultural sponsorship."
ENDS
For interviews and more information:
On Sunday 27 June, call 0207 700 7971
On Monday call Platform: 0207 403 3738 or 07790 430 620 /
info@platformlondon.org
Some of the signatories are available for comment
www.platformlondon.org
NOTES FOR EDITORS
[1] News of the party was first leaked on Thursday. See the PR; 'Leaked invite reveals Tate's ill-timed plans to celebrate BP; sponsorship' at http://blog.platformlondon.org/content/leaked-invite; reveals-tate's-ill-timed-plans-celebrate-bp-sponsorship
[2] The Good Crude Britannia is a national artists' campaign against BP sponsorship of Tate. We are calling all concerned artists to; either sign the petition and/or support the 'campaign' which is to be: launched on Monday 28th June 2010 at Tate Britain's Summer Party, 7-9pm. http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/group.php?gid=126083700763469; 'Licence to Spill' is available at: http://www.carbonweb.org/showitem.asp?article=381&parent=39
[3] Platform works across disciplines for social and ecological; justice. It combines the transformatory power of art with the; tangible goals of campaigning, the rigour of in-depth research with; the vision to promote alternative futures.
[4] The letter and full list of signatories:
Tonight, the Tate is holding a summer party in which it is also celebrating 20 years of BP sponsorship. As crude oil continues to devastate coastlines and communities in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives will be enjoying a cocktail reception with curators and artists in the Tate Britain. These relationships enable big oil
> companies to mask the environmentally destructive nature of their activities with the social legitimacy that is associated with such high profile cultural associations.
We represent a cross section of people from the arts community that believe that the BP logo represents a stain on Tate's international reputation. Many artists are angry that Tate and other national cultural institutions continue to side step the issue of oil sponsorship. Little more than a decade ago, tobacco companies were seen as respectable partners for public institutions to gain support from - that is no longer the case. It is our hope that oil and gas will soon be seen in the same light. The public is rapidly coming to recognise that the sponsorship programmes of BP and Shell are means by which attention can be distracted from their impacts on human rights, the environment and the global climate.
1.Hans Haacke, artist
2. John Keane, artist
3. Caryl Churchill, playwright
4. Matthew Herbert, electronic artist and composer
5. Suzi Gablik, art critic and writer
6. Gordon Roddick, art philanthopist
7. Rebecca Solnit, writer and art critic
8. Lucy R. Lippard, writer and curator
9. Davey Anderson, playwright
10. Adam Chodzko, artist
11. Beverly Naidus, artist and professor
12. Suzanne Lacy, artist
13. Chris Jordan, artist
14. Cat Phillipps, artist
15. Martin Rowson, cartoonist
16. Robert Newman, comedian and writer
17. Sonia Boyce, artist, MBE
18. Barbara Steveni, artist & initiator of Artist Placement Group
19. Peter Fend, artist
20. SaiMuRai (Simon Murray), writer, poet, artist
21. Ackroyd & Harvey, artists
22. Aidan Jolly, musician, community artist
23. Jon Sack, artist
24. Matthew Lee Knowles, composer
25. Theodore Price, artist
26. Scott Massey, artist
27. Ben Mellor, writer, performer, educator
28. The Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home, artist collective
29. David Haley FRSA, ecological artist and Senior Research Fellow
30. Alana Jelinek, artist & curator
31. Rachel Anderson, creative producer
32. John Volynchook, photographer
33. Jackie Brookner, artist
34. Suzanne Lacy, artist
35. Neil Callaghan, artist
36. Jonathan Baxter, artist and arts organizer
37. Mark McGowan, artist
38. Catrin Evans, artistic director and theatre practitioner
39. James Stenhouse, artist
40. Charlie Fox, artist and producer
41. Roxanne Permar, artist
42. Jane Lawson, artist
43. John Jordan, artist and writer
44. Hemant Anant Jain, illustrator
45. The Space Hijackers, art interventionists
46. Clare Patey artist/curator
47. Matthias von Hartz, Director Hamburg International Festival
48. Lois Keidan, Live art Development Agency
49. Lucy Neal, artist and producer
50. Lise Autogena, artist
51. Marcelo Expósito, artist and critic
52. Steve Duncombe, cultural theorist/writer
53. Cameron Davis, artist and professor of art at Vermont University
54. Kim Stringfellow, artist/associate professor, SDSU
55. Ros Martin, poet and playwright
56. Amy Balkin, artist
57. John Hartley, artist
58. Amber Hickey, artist
59. Christian Nold, artist
60. Isabeau Doucet, painter
61. Jean Grant, creative director
62. Hayley Newman, artist
63. Christian de Sousa, artist and photographer
64. Immo Klink, artist
65. Susan Kelly, artist and art lecturer
66. Aviv Kruglanski, artist
67. Steve Stuffit, artist
68. Helen Spackman, artistic director and senior lecturer in performing arts
69. Lorena Rivero de Beer, artist
70. Janey Hunt, artist
71. Gregory Sholette, artist and writer
72. Mem Morrison, artistic director
73. Lars Kwakkenbos, artist and writer
74. Tom Besley, producer
75. PLATFORM, arts/activist organization
76. Fran Crowe, artist
77. Sharon Salazar, filmmaker/director
78. Leah Gordon, photographer, filmmaker and curator
79. Alke Schmidt, artist
80. Monika Vykoukal, curator
81. CJ Mitchell, deputy director of Live Art Development Agency
82. Julian Maynard Smith, director of Station House Opera
83. Sue Palmer, artist
84. Brett Bloom, artist
85. Kerry Burton, artist
86. The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, art/activist collective
87. Anna Francis, artist
88. Ana Betancour, artist and architect
89. Simone Paterson, new media artist and academic
90. Ian Teh, photographer
91. Alejandro Meitin, artist
92. Simone Kenyon, artist and producer
93. Milena Placentile, curator
94. Nick Turner, artist and designer
95. Fabio Sassi, artist
96. Ruth Ewan, artist
97. Raoul Martinez, artist
98. Robert McAdam, painter
99. Katy Fattuhi, arts marketer
100. John Holt, artist and writer
101. Katy Hallett, Director, Art Programme
102. Judy Price, artist
103. Stephanie Thieullent, photographer, artist
104. Felix Gonzales, filmmaker, artist
105. Rafael Santos, artist
106. Adrian Arbib, photographer
107. Ian Hunter, Director, Littoral
108. Ele Carpenter, curator
109. Helene Aylon, activist artist
110. Pamela Graham, artist
111. Louise Jones, director, Lemon Street Gallery
112. Ciel Bergman, artist/environmental activist
113. Glauco Bermudez, Cinematographer
114. Marianne Soisalo, artist
115. Mariana Bassani, photographer
116. Michele Petillo, artist
117. Siobhan Mckeown, artist
118. ZEV, tex/sound artist
119. Mira Schor, artist and writer
120. Judith Knight, Director, Artsadmin
121. Gill Lloyd, Director, Artsadmin
123. Danielle Frank, artist
124. Stuart Bracewell, artist.
125. Beverley Dale, Digital Artist
126. Vahida Ramujkic, Artist
127. Mark Vallen - painter, printmaker, writer
128. Toni Martinez-Solera, artist
129. Lucy Fairley, Artist
130. Noel Douglas artist, designer, activist
131. Gareth Evans, writer and curator
132. Stevphen Shukaitis, arts /media/cultural publisher
133. Kuljit Chuhan, Creative producer and digital media artist
134. Calum F. Kerr, artist
135. Lisa Wesley, artist
136. Jody Boehnert, designer, artist and writer
137. Heide Fasnacht, visual artist
138. Michelle Jaffé, artist
139. Jan Brooks, artist
140. Peter Harrison, propeller arts collective
141. Deanne Belinoff, artist
142. Michelle Waters, artist
143. Fern Shaffer, artist
144. Harmony Hammond, artist and art writer
145. Simon Whetham, sound artist
146. Mimi Poskitt, director
147. Micheala Crimmin, curator and critic
148. Wallace Heim, writer and academic
149. Ciel Bergman, painter
150. Ali Sparror - artist
151. Lucy Reeves - Film designer
152. The Vacuum Cleaner, art/activist,
153. Robby Herbst, artist
154. Anja Steidinger, visual artist
155. Claire Hildreth, photographer
156. Loraine Leeson, artist
157. Kayle Brandon, artist
158. Peter Offord, artist
159. Julie Green, painter
160. Murray Wason, artist
161. Christina Moore, production designer
162. Emma Byron, artist and performer
163. Miche Fabre Lewin, artist-cuisiuniere
164. Kate Rich, artist
165. Madeleine Hodge, artist and curator
166. Kirstin Forkert, artist
167. Martin Nakell, poet, fictionalist
168. Liam Hurley, writer, theatre director, story teller
169. Mike Perry, artist
170. Phil Maxwell & Hazuan Hashim, artists
171. Greg Pact, artist
NEW REPORT: 'Cashing in on Tar Sands' reveals RBS is UK bank most involved in financing loans to tar sands companies. http://bit.ly/aqi9pQ;
SHAPING THE FUTURE: PLATFORM and The Stephen Lawrence Centre have teamed up to launch an exciting new programme of events and courses. http://bit.ly/29uzrA
NOT SUCH A ROSY DEAL AFTER ALL: PLATFORM Leaks Uganda's Oil Contracts. http://bit.ly/5AFMFa
PLATFORM London ; 7 Horselydown Lane ; London SE1 2LN
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7403 3738
> Email: info@platformlondon.org
> Web: http://platformlondon.org
> Blog: http://blog.platformlondon.org
>
> PLATFORM is a company limited by guarantee no. 2658515 and a
> registered charity no 1044485.
> --
> Art Not Oil: for creativity, climate justice and an end to fossil fuel
> industry sponsorship of the arts.
> c/o 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES; 07709 545116
> www.artnotoil.org.uk - send us your art!
> www.risingtide.org.uk
> See also www.climatecamp.org.uk
> as well as Climate Indymedia: climateimc.org
>
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