BP’s spirit successfully exorcised from the Tate – for now…

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Dearest brethren,

Monday saw extraordinary scenes as we joined Reverend Billy and the Church of Earthaluyah to exorcise the beast that is BP from the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. Filling the huge space inside the former power station with singing, clapping and chanting, crowds of people joined the Rev in a piece of protest performance art that was at times sombre, at times raucous, at times oily – and ultimately incredibly powerful. Watch the film (above) to find out what the hell we’re talking about.

We dedicated this action to our comrade Alex Lee, an amazing activist and all-round beautiful person, who recently died.

Meanwhile, things are hotting up across the pond. A group of prominent individuals, including Naomi Klein, Maude Barlow, James Hansen and our good friend George Poitras, have called on people across the US to take sustained direct action against the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline this summer. Activists in Montana were first off the blocks last week, with an occupation of the Governor of Montana’s offices.

Finally, the UK government is still blocking the inclusion of tar sands in the Fuel Quality Directive.
Grrrr. There’s going to be a lunchtime protest next Wednesday (27th) at Norman Baker’s London offices, where we will join with Avaaz, the Co-operative and others to hand in a petition of over 52,000 signatures. If anyone can make it, we’d love some support, so please email [email protected] for more details.

Earthaluyahs all round,

Jess, Sue and Emily