ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analysis of data gathered as a result of multiple Freedom of Information Act requests to the British Museum with ethnographic research on the interventions carried out by campaigners targeting British Petroleum (BP) sponsorship. It examines the relationships between the different parties involved in BP-sponsored exhibitions at the British Museum, and from so-called source communities to the activists campaigning against BP. The chapter shows that two specific groups within the larger arena of publics connected to the British Museum: anti-oil sponsorship activists in the UK and source communities in Australia—a subset of which were actively involved in struggles over the repatriation of objects and/or environmental issues. It suggests that an acknowledgement of the complexities of the power relations between these actors has influenced the campaign against BP’s sponsorship of the arts, shifting the narrative from a more targeted approach to one that is culturally situated and responds to concerns from other involved actors.
