麻豆约拍

Just how much influence should sponsors wield over how cultural institutions operate? There are accusations that some of Britain's museums have broken their code of ethics in the way they dealt with one of their commercial sponsors, the oil giant BP. The move follows the release of internal documents that it's claimed show the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and other institutions have bent to accommodate the demands of the oil company. The Art Not Oil alliance of campaign groups argue that BP influenced curatorial decision-making, shaped cultural institutions' security strategies and used museums to further its political interests in the UK and abroad. Susannah Streeter found out more from Dr Chris Garrard from the Art Not Oil group, who is the lead author of the report released today.

(Picture: Art Not Oil protesters outside the BP portrait awards 2011. Picture credit: Getty Images.)