Cleanliness, godliness and corporate arts philanthropy
A new age of activism and sponsorship boycotting has suddenly left many UK festivals in a precarious financial position. Henry Mance and Harriet Agnew ask who is clean enough to find the arts.
In 2019, the Hay Festival found itself in an awkward spot. Its main sponsor, the conglomerate Tata, stood accused of harming poor communities in India and limiting their freedom of speech. The Booker Prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy was refusing to attend Hay in protest. Ultimately, Tata agreed to pull its funding.
The UK’s biggest literary festival was left with a new main sponsor: the Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford, which, after more than a decade of arts patronage, seemed too dull to be boycotted by anyone. Problem solved? Not for long.
Over the past year, it has been Baillie Gifford’s turn to feel the heat. The firm, which manages more than £225bn in assets and is best known for investing early in Tesla, has been accused of profiting from fossil fuels and “Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide”. Last month, faced with a boycott from several authors, Hay suspended its sponsorship deal. Edinburgh International Book Festival, which had defended its sponsorship by Baillie Gifford, followed suit...Keep reading on Financial Times.
In 2019, the Hay Festival found itself in an awkward spot. Its main sponsor, the conglomerate Tata, stood accused of harming poor communities in India and limiting their freedom of speech. The Booker Prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy was refusing to attend Hay in protest. Ultimately, Tata agreed to pull its funding.
The UK’s biggest literary festival was left with a new main sponsor: the Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford, which, after more than a decade of arts patronage, seemed too dull to be boycotted by anyone. Problem solved? Not for long.
Over the past year, it has been Baillie Gifford’s turn to feel the heat. The firm, which manages more than £225bn in assets and is best known for investing early in Tesla, has been accused of profiting from fossil fuels and “Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide”. Last month, faced with a boycott from several authors, Hay suspended its sponsorship deal. Edinburgh International Book Festival, which had defended its sponsorship by Baillie Gifford, followed suit...Keep reading on Financial Times.