Oil and gas company British Petroleum will no longer be on the judging panel for the National Portrait Gallery's BP Portrait Award, in which it has participated since 1997 and has been sponsoring since the late 1980s.
A news report from The Guardian reveals the decision follows increased pressure from artists and activists for the gallery to end BP's involvement entirely, though the spokesperson for the gallery is quoted saying: "The judging panel is refreshed each year to ensure new perspectives are brought to judge the entries."
The spokesperson added that BP’s exclusion was a joint decision, and the move was not influenced by an artist-led campaign last year.
In 2019, Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread and Anish Kapoor joined a group of about 80 other artists, including those who have received the BP Portrait Award, asking the gallery's director to cut ties with BP, citing the fossil fuel producer's impact on the environment.
The National Portrait Gallery has faced pressure from climate change activists, too. At the end of last year’s BP Portrait Award exhibition in October, environmental group Extinction Rebellion staged a performance piece in the gallery.
In 2016, Tate became the first to conclude its relationship with BP, while the Royal Shakespeare Company decided to end a sponsorship deal with the oil giant in October 2019. The National Galleries Scotland soon followed, ending all alliance with BP. The National Theatre halted the corporate membership of another oil company, Shell, the same time.
While BP may not be on the judging panel this year, their sponsorship of the award continues.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the winner will be announced online on Tuesday, May 5 and the works will be exhibited virtually. The prestigious award boasts a top prize of £35,000 (Dh160,000).
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
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Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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