Finmeccanica and National Gallery part company early
Controversial sponsorship deal comes to an end
Italian arms company Finmeccanica has ended its sponsorship arrangement with the National Gallery in London a year before it was due to end.
Finmeccanica, which does business ‘globally in the aerospace, defence and security market’, had arranged corporate sponsorship with the National Gallery in October last year. The agreement allowed the company use of gallery space to host events.
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) had organised demonstrations and stunts against the use of a national institution in this way. CAAT and others had protested outside the gallery following one such event held by Finmeccanica at the time of the DSEI conference last September. Their aim was to ‘disarm the gallery’, as they said these events included representatives of repressive regimes such as Libya, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The company had also held three receptions during the biennial Farnborough International Air Show between 2006 and 2010.
A campaign to get the National Gallery to end the sponsorship arrangement began in March of this year with a public letter in the Guardian. Artists, including Peter Kennard and Will Self, wrote, ‘By entering into this deal the gallery not only provides a gloss of legitimacy for a reprehensible trade; it is also providing very practical support for the arms industry. How can an institution which celebrates the creative spirit of humanity open its door to those dealing in products designed to kill and destroy?’
In response to the news of the end of the sponsorship deal, Sarah Waldron from CAAT said: ‘We are delighted that the gallery’s relationship with Finmeccanica has come to an end. Many people were deeply concerned that an iconic and much-loved institution had chosen to support such an unethical industry. An association with such a company could only tarnish the gallery’s reputation.’
In a statement the National Gallery said: ‘Finmeccanica has informed us that they have decided to terminate their corporate membership with the National Gallery. Finmeccanica’s contract ran from 1 October 2011 to 2013 with an option to terminate the contract at the end of the first year. Finmeccanica has decided to exercise this option.’
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