Ebook: Artwash: Big Oil and the Arts

As major oil companies face continual public backlash, many have found it helpful to engage in “art washing”―donating large sums to cultural institutions to shore up their good name. But what effect does this influx of oil money have on these institutions? Artwash explores the relationship between funding and the production of the arts, with particular focus on the role of big oil companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell. Reflecting on the role and function of art galleries, Artwash considers how the association with oil money might impede these institutions in their cultural endeavors. Outside the gallery space, Mel Evans examines how corporate sponsorship of the arts can obscure the strategies of corporate executives to maintain brand identity and promote their public image through cultural philanthropy. Ultimately, Evans sounds a note of hope, presenting ways artists themselves have challenged the ethics of contemporary art galleries and examining how cultural institutions might change.

Review

"Oil companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell have begun to “art wash” by donating to cultural institutions in an attempt to win back public approval. In Artwash , Evans addresses the impact of oil sponsorship on these institutions, considering economic and public relations aspects, focusing on BP at Tate as a case study, and venturing into protest strategies." ― Public Art Review

"With clarity and force, this book cuts through the sticky misdirection and pseudo-debate and equips the reader with the key facts and arguments. Along the way, it offers an interwoven history of sponsorship, policy and activism in museums. . . . Artwash is a smart, readable and inspiring intervention--required reading for anyone who cares about art, public culture and the fate of our planet." ― Ninety-Nine Magazine

"Americans might read Artwash and its British focus and say it can't happen here, but it's already happening. Look no further than The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new $65 million David H. Koch Plaza, or the $100 million David H. Koch Theater (home to the New York City Ballet and New York City Opera), or the $15 million David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that, according to the website, helps answer the question, 'What does it mean to be human?'" -- Bob Duggan ― BigThink

Review

'This fascinating book delves deeply into the pressing debates about art sponsorship, one of the more insidious tools that the fossil fuel industry deploys to build and maintain its power, undermining the critical role of art in our democracies in the process'

'Charts campaigners' journey, drills down into why BP and Shell have snuggled up to our major cultural institutions, and details the impact of BP's Tate sponsorship on the gallery's reputation, staff, and artists, questioning who benefits from the 25-year relationship'

'Places the end of oil sponsorship within a much longer history of standing up to corporations and winning'

'Provide[s] a a vigorous overview from an artist's perspective of a serious issue facing our major cultural institutions in these uncertain times'

'Sharp, pointed and persuasive'

'Critically discusses the impact of corporate sponsorship on the arts and exposes the motives of donors to shocking effect'

'[Evans'] infectious optimism is the most striking feature of this persuasively argued and unashamedly idealistic book'

'A rapidly paced immensely readable breakdown of the oil business and the laundering of its image through patronage of the arts'

'Perfect for those interested in how oil companies fund the arts to improve their public image … not just happy with explaining the crude links, Evans also explains how we can fight back'

About the Author

Mel Evans is an artist and campaigner associated with Liberate Tate and Platform. As well as making unsanctioned performance works at Tate and writing on oil sponsorship of the arts, she creates theater pieces in the City of London that examine culture, finance, and big oil.