Nationwide Galleries of Scotland (NGS) has change into the most recent organisation to defy calls from activists to dump Baillie Gifford as a sponsor, insisting that taking money from the agency was moral.
A collection of high-profile arts our bodies and occasions have cut ties with the Edinburgh-based investment firm following boycott calls for from campaigners angered by its alleged hyperlinks to fossil gasoline corporations and Israel’s conflict in Gaza.
Nonetheless, NGS, which runs 4 galleries in Edinburgh as one of many UK’s largest cultural establishments, has refused to capitulate, saying non-public sector funding was important to ship its altruistic goals.
NGS is following the lead of the Edinburgh Fringe, which declined to sever hyperlinks with Baillie Gifford, as a part of a rising backlash to so-called “divestment” campaigns, with one arts physique calling the strain “insupportable”.
“After loads of thought and consideration, the Nationwide Galleries of Scotland plans to proceed our relationship with Baillie Gifford,” mentioned Anne Lyden, who has been director-general of NGS since January.
“We perceive that this can be a complicated concern, and there are a lot of differing views, however we’re assured that the funding we obtain from Baillie Gifford meets our strong ethical standards.”
Ms Lyden added: “As a cultural organisation the Nationwide Galleries of Scotland affords an area for artists to share experiences and views with others, encouraging dialogue and understanding of the world we reside in.
“This is among the important methods we will positively affect society, nevertheless it must be funded.
“We ship a world-class programme of exhibitions, occasions, engagement and outreach which simply wouldn’t be potential with out assist from companions like Baillie Gifford.”
Fossil Free Books
A marketing campaign known as Fossil Free Books has claimed Baillie Gifford has hyperlinks to Israel’s navy marketing campaign and criticised investments in oil and gasoline corporations, and has urged cultural bodies to tear up sponsorship deals with it.
In Might, the Edinburgh Worldwide E book Competition mentioned it reluctantly ended a 20-year relationship with the firm as a result of “insupportable” strain.
Final 12 months’s ebook pageant was overshadowed by Greta Thunberg cancelling a deliberate look, in a “greenwashing” row centred on Baillie Gifford . Some occasions that did go forward have been hit by walk-outs.
The singer Charlotte Church and a few Labour politicians have additionally backed the Fossil Free Books campaign, which has additionally seen occasions such because the Hay Competition lose sponsorship income from Baillie Gifford.
Baillie Gifford has insisted it has been unfairly targeted, saying it invests way more in inexperienced vitality firms than in fossil gasoline firms.
It has claimed that accusations that it was a big investor in occupied Palestinian territories have been “significantly deceptive”.
First Minister’s assist
Final month John Swinney, the First Minister, backed the agency and accused local weather activists of damaging Scotland’s cultural occasions by making “misplaced” calls for on organisers to reject sponsorship offers.
The Edinburgh Fringe said it would be sticking with Baillie Gifford as a sponsor, and remained “enormously grateful” for its assist.
Shona McCarthy, the Fringe Society’s chief government, warned of a “fevered setting” by which the humanities have been turning into a “very unattractive proposition” for the non-public sector to assist.
Tom Jeffreys, a author and Fossil Free Books organiser, mentioned final week the truth that 9 literary festivals and three artwork galleries have been now not receiving funding from Baillie Gifford on account of the divestment marketing campaign have been “victories”.
He added: “Our work is not going to cease till we obtain a books business free from the earnings of fossil fuels and the arms business.”
Nick Thomas of Baillie Gifford accused activists of an “anonymous campaign of coercion and misinformation” which has led to diminished funding for the UK arts.
