No Soul for Sale at the Tate Modern?

Is the Tate Modern's soul for sale? Photo Credit: Indu Chandrasekhar

Last month, the Tate Modern kicked off its 10th anniversary celebrations with No Soul for Sale: A Festival of Independents, a three-day exhibition featuring the work of independent artists from around the world. The aim of the show was to do break down the idea that great museums can only display ‘The Greats’.

The museum gave out parcels of space in Turbine Hall, and from there the participants had complete artistic freedom. The result: “A a pop-up village of global art for visitors to explore,” according to the organisers. Some built interactive structures, some put their work on display, and some used themselves as part of the art, all as an expression of their independence from the regimented world of public art. Below, Aoife Yourell and Indu Chandrasekhar combined audio and photos to give a sense of this unique exhibition.

But an exposé released yesterday puts into question the independence of the very museum that hosted this exhibition. National media, protesters and bloggers have reported that the Tate Britain, the Tate Modern’s sister museum, is holding a gala next week in honour of their 20-year sponsors: British Petroleum (BP), the company responsible for the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Tate Galleries are not the only bastions of art benefiting from BP’s funds. The National Gallery, The British Museum and the Royal Opera House all have their coffers partially filled by BP.

A joint statement from the aforementioned organisations described their gratitude to BP for its sponsorship. “We are grateful to BP for their long-term commitment, sharing the vision that our artistic programmes should be made available to the widest possible audience.”

While the oil company’s sponsorship is certainly valuable for institutions that rely on public funding, funding that is getting slashed under Britain’s new austerity measures, it seems there is no good way to be associated with BP.

The group “Good Crude Britannia” plans to protest outside the Tate Britain on 28 June.