Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 16 link 2 artists

uk museums defend corporate funding

A group of officials overseeing major UK cultural institutions, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery, have signed a public letter defending corporate sponsorship. Published in the Financial Times, the letter calls for an end to "relentless negativity" around private sector partnerships and is backed by ten organizations, including the Science Museum Group. It follows protests over Baillie Gifford's sponsorship of literary festivals due to its ties to fossil fuels and Israel, which led nine festivals to end partnerships in 2023.

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article policy schedule Nov 27, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

museums in crisis takeaways

Artnet News published its 'Museums in Crisis' series, a global investigation into pressures facing cultural institutions. Key takeaways include: Western museums face a funding and political crisis, with U.S. institutions losing hundreds of millions in federal support (including $428 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities) and European museums like those in Berlin facing cuts of €130 million. Corporate sponsorship is increasingly risky due to ethical scrutiny, with the U.K.'s Museums Association urging institutions to avoid ties to fossil fuels or human rights abuses. China's private museums are at risk of downsizing or disappearing due to economic slowdown and lack of public funding.

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article policy schedule Sep 5, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

museums association code of ethics fossil fuel sponsorships

The Museums Association (MA) in the United Kingdom has proposed a new code of ethics that, for the first time, explicitly mentions fossil fuel companies. The guidelines recommend that museums transition away from sponsorship by organizations involved in environmental harm, human rights abuses, or other activities misaligned with museum values, and instead seek ethical funding that serves community interests. MA members will vote on ratifying the changes from September 15 until the annual conference on October 7, with the last code updated in 2015.

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article policy schedule Jul 7, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

mps to debate whether sponsorship and advertizing by fossil fuel companies should be banned in uk

On Monday, the UK Parliament will debate whether to ban sponsorship and advertising by fossil fuel companies, following a petition with over 100,000 signatures. The petition specifically cites the £50 million partnership between BP and the British Museum, arguing that such deals allow fossil fuel giants to greenwash their reputations. While the government has no current plans to restrict fossil fuel advertising, cultural institutions like the National Portrait Gallery, Tate galleries, and Royal Opera House have already ended sponsorship deals with BP. The British Museum has defended its BP deal, with director Nicolas Cullinan stating the funding helps keep the museum free to the public.

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article policy schedule Jun 2, 2025 visibility 9 link 2 artists

ancient rock art australia woodside energy burrup peninsula

The Australian government has conditionally approved a 40-year extension for Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas plant on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga), home to an estimated one million petroglyphs dating back 50,000 years. Environment Minister Murray Watt announced the decision on May 28 after a six-year review, imposing strict conditions on air emissions and cultural heritage management, though the specific conditions remain confidential. Archaeologist Benjamin Smith of the University of Western Australia has warned that pollutants from the extended operations pose a grave risk to the rock art, which includes the world's earliest depictions of human faces.

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article policy schedule Oct 1, 2025 source 2 sources visibility 14 link 1 artist

unesco launches museum looted cultural objects

UNESCO has launched the world's first virtual museum of stolen cultural objects, featuring thousands of artifacts viewable in 3D. The initiative was announced at UNESCO's World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development in Barcelona, designed by architect Francis Kéré in collaboration with Interpol, with funding from Saudi Arabia. The museum is organized by geographic region and includes sections like the "stolen cultural objects gallery" and a "return and restitution room" that highlights recovered items, such as a bronze Buddha statue from China's Ming Dynasty and a Syrian gold pendant looted from the Palmyra Museum.

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article policy schedule Feb 9, 2026 visibility 10

‘These are dirty funds’: Indigenous Brazilian leader slams Science Museum for oil sponsorship ahead of climate show

Indigenous Brazilian leader Ninawa Huni Kui has condemned the Science Museum in London for accepting sponsorship from BP on the eve of its new exhibition, *Water, Pantanal, Fire*, which highlights climate breakdown in Latin America. The exhibition focuses on the Pantanal wetland, a threatened ecosystem spanning Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Huni Kui called BP's sponsorship "dirty funds stained with blood," and was joined by activists from 350.org and Culture Unstained in criticizing the museum for partnering with a major fossil fuel company while presenting a show about climate impacts.

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