BP National Portrait Competition

BP Portrait Gallery Vigil
April - May 2007

BP were sponsoring the BP National Portrait Competition. The winning entries were made into an exhibition, which toured the country. When it got to Bristol we decided to throw a spanner in the works of the PR machine.
There are good reasons why companies like BP choose to throw cash at cultural, arty events. Altruism and love of art and 'high' culture don't feature highly on the list. Oil companies have had a bit of an image problem over recent years, as one scandal after another has hit the front pages. Sponsoring events like this is part of their PR counterattack. Its a way of convincing the public that they are caring, responsible companies who support culture and the arts. And its very cheap too.

Bristol Rising Tide activists linked up with Bristol Espacio Colombia, a group dedicated to solidarity with oppressed people in Colombia. We shared information and ideas about the role of BP in creating climate change and attacking communities that got in the way of their lucrative oil prospecting.

On May 5th and May 20th we went to the exhibition with a counter-exhibition of our own.

Silent protest at National Portrait Award Exhibition Opening
15 April 2007, Bristol

People from Espacio Bristol-Colombia and Bristol Rising Tide picketed the Royal West of England Academy with a visual memorial of some of the people killed by the army and right-wing paramilitaries in the BP-controlled area of Colombia. The gallery is currently exhibiting the National Portrait Award exhibition which is sponsored by BP. The protestors stood silently in front of the gallery for two hours, holding copies of portraits from the exhibition with the faces removed, to signify the fact that the faces of the murdered and disappeared are rarely seen. Public support and understanding was overwhelming, with people being visibly moved or angered to learn of BP’s activities.

Bristol Indymedia

A Real Portrait of BP.
Some Background

In Colombia BP have been linked with paramilitaries who have tortured, killed and “disappeared” many people for getting in the way of their oil prospecting.

In Recetor, a rural village with 1171 inhabitants, in early 2002 the army arrived. Disappearances began: 2 or 3 per day (uniformed men called peasants by name and forced them into vehicle). After 63 had been “disappeared”, the community abandoned the village - those with no money had to suffer fear in silence. 6 months later, after 65 disappearances, BP began oil exploration - no luck finding either oil or bodies.

BP spends a few % of its vast budget on renewables. They spend a whole lot more on PR and advertising to convince us that they are a responsible, sustainable company.

Why are they looking for new oil reserves, when just burning the reserves we have would send the global climate berserk?

The answer, as I’m sure you have probably guessed is money. Big money. Lord Browne, the boss, recently had a pay rise to £5.6 million a year.