Chevron, the multinational energy company, has sparked controversy after prematurely removing a temporary art installation from its premises, according to the artists involved.
The work, titled Fences — A collective monument, was installed on April 22, Earth Day, along a 1,000-foot stretch of Richmond Parkway near the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. The communal art project, made up of colorful slats affixed to what organizers believed was a mostly city-owned part, asked viewers to write their hopes for the city and its environmental future directly on the artwork. art, a nod to the inherent collectivity of social justice and the dangers Chevron posed to the health of the community.
The exhibit was scheduled to run until June 3; one participant noticed that the slats were missing on the morning of May 16th.
After the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the missing installation on June 6, Chevron took responsibility for its removal the following day in a statement on paper.
“Installation on company property has been removed, in accordance with our safety, security and facilities policies,” a Chevron representative said. told ARTnews June 8. “Our fencing and other company facilities are working equipment and we cannot allow tampering or unauthorized construction.”
The leaders behind the Fences project, community organizer Princess Robinson and artist Graham LP, contacted Chevron and the City of Richmond prior to installation to seek approval. According to organizers, Chevron never responded, but the city approved their request. Those involved allege that Chevron never reached out to warn them of the impending withdrawal, leading some associated participants to suspect theft. Activists across the region are outraged.
Katt Ramos, chief executive of Richmond Our Power Coalition, a grassroots organization fighting against the region’s industrial oil monopolies, shared with ARTNews“”[I thought] it was Chevron because we were three or four days away from Anti-Chevron Day and four or five days away from their stakeholder meeting, they don’t want any bad press. Anti-Chevron Day was founded in 2012 in response to the Richmond refinery fire and the resulting release of chemicals that negatively impacted the health of residents in the years that followed. .
According to Graham LP, Chevron is now reaching out to organizers to settle the matter. In a statement to The arts journalLP said: “We’re quite aware that they’re trying to cover this up pretty quickly, especially now that they realize they stole this artwork from what is definitely city property and that it is maintained, and more importantly, that they have tried to silence these messages from the community”.
“We are trying to bring a message of unity with this project,” he continued. “It disappeared in such a strange way when we were very public about what we were doing and went through a formal process with the city to identify a site that belonged to the city, which received unanimous approval from the Commission public arts and all relevant city and county agencies.
“It’s been an incredible experience over the years to work with a large community that believes in clean air,” he added.
Chevron did not immediately respond with a request for comment.
