UK gallery group releases numbers from 17-year period to campaign group Platform after ruling by an information tribunal
The protests have included a ‘mass exorcism’ in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, gallons of oily black molasses ‘accidentally’ split at Tate’s annual summer party, and transcripts of the Deepwater Horizon trial whispered accusingly round the galleries – yet through it all, Tate has stood by its longest-running and most controversial sponsor, the oil company BP.
On Monday, the primary reason why was revealed. Tate figures, released after a three-year legal battle showed for the first time how much money BP donated over a 17-year period. The total was £3.8m, given in annual amounts varying between £150,000 and £330,000 – an average of £224,000 a year. A “considerable sum” say Tate. An “embarrassingly small” figure, counter the protesters.