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This is water defending itself – Protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline on Westminster Bridge
Forty feet wide by ten feet high the banner drapes delicately from the solid structure of Westminster Bridge. Standing at the parapet, gazing down at the brown river, we can see the upturned faces of over a hundred passengers looking up at us from the tourist vessel ‘Millennium Dream’. They are clearly trying to decipher…
22 Sep 2016 james -
Strip away the carapace – the Ice Age, BP, and the British Museum
It pushes me quickly to tears. I’m kneeling on the cold stone floor of the Great Court, legs tucked beneath me, one foot crossed under the other. I’m listening to a rendition of A Requiem to Sinking Cities – an agit-performance in the heart of the British Museum. Silent figures hold up two banners, ‘#DropBP’…
15 Sep 2016 james -
Solidarity with Black Lives Matter UK shutdown at City Airport
Platform has signed a statement of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and their shutdown at City Airport. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter UK and fully support the inspiring shutdown of London City Airport that they led on 6 September to oppose the airport’s expansion. We agree that the climate crisis is a…
13 Sep 2016 Sarah -
Power Station Giant Down… and commemorate!
Last Wednesday, at 11am, another giant landmark in the history of UK fossil-fuel power crashed to the ground. Never mind a landmark, this was also a giant seamark that aided navigation at the start of the Thames and Medway estuaries for hundreds of vessels every day. Its end came with two huge bangs that juddered…
12 Sep 2016 jane -
We need to hear Black Lives Matter on climate and pollution
Tuesday’s news was dominated by Black Lives Matter’s audacious action to shut down City Airport and to force the issue of racism into the media discourse on climate change and environment. You would think that reportedly swimming or paddling their way across a dock to reach the runway was no mean feat but their success…
9 Sep 2016 Sarah -
Everything in Motion – of Swallows and resistance to the Lower Thames Crossing
Looking up through the skylight I catch only a glimpse of it soon after dawn. Less than a second. The effortless power of a confident killer. The shape of the dark sickle wings against the depth of the blue. A Hobby passing over the house, flying south down the Hoo Peninsula. It is only at…
6 Sep 2016 james -
The changing wind – shedding the carbon skin
I am cramming chocolate into your mouth. I feel the dampness of your lips against my fingertips and see the brown squares tumble into the darkness. It takes seconds to complete the task, but the time draws out, slows down. All around is mayhem. The wind makes the shrouds howl. The sound thrusts a…
11 Aug 2016 james -
Open letter: BP can’t buy our silence
Today’s Times has published an open letter from Mark Rylance, Naomi Klein, Nnimmo Bassey, Matthew Herbert, and 215 artists, actors, arts managers, musicians, frontline activists, campaigners, and scientists, arguing: We cannot afford another five years of BP-branded culture. Last Thursday BP announced the renewal of its flagship sponsorship programme. Its partners, this time: British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Royal…
2 Aug 2016 anna -
Tate loses in court over BP secrets as oil co. renews other cultural sponsorships
Press release: Tate loses in court over BP secrets as oil co. renews other cultural sponsorships Information Tribunal rules Tate must reveal BP sponsorship fees for 2007-2011 in a legal victory for campaigners. Artists and campaigners promise fresh wave of discontent as British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Opera House, and Royal Shakespeare Company sign…
