Climate change ‘activists’ have spent the night at the famous Tate Modern art gallery in London, using their time there to scrawl all over the walls and floors, and to defecate in a “toilet” they brought from home and kept behind a curtain.
The ‘Libertate Tate’ group, which protests against the gallery’s sponsorship deal with British Petroleum (BP), has spent the past few months and years costing the Tate Britain and Tate Modern more money, by vandalising its property, and otherwise causing a security nuisance. Last night’s ‘protest’ even forced the gallery to close some areas to the public, no doubt costing money in donations.
But the activists even claim they’re making a point about forcing the Tate cleaning staff to mop up after them. “If only it was this easy to clean up after the fossil fuel industry,” they tweeted after vacating the building earlier this afternoon.
BP is one of the longest-standing supporters of the Tate, and the money the company voluntarily gives, for no advertising and little recognition in return, helps the organisation stay away from claiming more in government subsidy via the British taxpayer.
Liberate Tate, while criticising the links between BP and the Tate, is hardly a transparent organisation itself. It describes itself as an “art collective” and says it is “dedicated to taking creative disobedience against Tate until it drops its oil company funding”.
The Tate currently receives funding from the British government, as well as subscriptions, and private funding. Liberate Tate do not appear to propose how the Tate would fill the gap in its funding were it to drop the £224,000 a year it receives from BP.
Presumably, given the group’s left-wing views, it would not advocate the mass sackings of staff, or departmental cutbacks – but this is exactly what the group is pushing the Tate towards. That, or increased funding from BP, in order to pay for the clean up efforts every time Liberate Tate “creatively disobeys”.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.