Pressure grows on Woodside Energy’s arts sponsorships

Oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum’s sponsorship of arts events is being scrutinised by environmental activists, who have question its links with Western Australian Youth Orchestra, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

The orchestras, each of which are sponsored by the energy business, are currently performing at the Perth International Arts Festival by composer John Luther Adams titled Become Ocean.

Activist group, Fossil Free Arts WA, has run a public campaign to highlight the irony that a piece of art about climate change is being sponsored by a “fossil fuel company that contributes to rising global temperatures”.

Fossil Free Arts WA has also written to the boards of each orchestra requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns, but were denied.

Woodside Chief Executive Meg O'Neill sits on the board of WA Symphony Orchestra alongside Company Chairman Richard Goyder.

The letter said it was ironic that a Perth Festival performance about climate change is being sponsored by a fossil fuel company that is actively contributing to climate change.

Woodside sponsors a number of community, arts and entertainment programs across its home state, including the Fremantle Dockers and the WA Ballet Company.

It has faced a sustained campaign by climate and environmental activist groups which describe its involvements in such programs as attempts to maintain social licence that amount to ‘greenwashing’.

Fossil Fuel Arts spokesperson Madeleine Antoine commented “there's a real hypocrisy when you program a concert about celebrating the ocean while promoting a company such as Woodside who are actively trying to destroy it with their disastrous and criminal Scarborough Gas Hub

Previously Woodside was forced to drop its sponsorship of the Perth Fringe Festival after attracting criticism from participating artists. Woodside later diverted its funding to Artrage - the company which runs the Fringe event - rather than the festival itself.

in 2019, Woodside's naming rights deal for Surf Life Saving WA's Nippers program also generated controversy.

Earlier this year Tennis Australia announced it had ended its contract with oil and gas exploration company Santos as its ‘official natural gas partner’.

Image: West Australia Symphony Orchestra.