A message to our visitors following ACORN protest and free entry demand

Updated statement on protest action in We The Curious – updated 29 July

On 19 July We The Curious was disrupted by a protest led by ACORN Bristol. The group entered the venue without authorisation, demanded free entry to the centre for visitors and general public, and their behaviour caused significant concern for the wellbeing and safety of our visitors and team.

This protest was held in relation to a historic donation and a recent event in one of our venue hire spaces. 

We want to address up front, that we’re not in receipt of any funding from any arms companies, and we unequivocally stand against genocide and harm to human life of any kind. 

We are an educational charity that welcomes around 300,000 visitors each year, including schoolchildren, young people, community groups and local not-for-profits. We partner with schools and local organisations to deliver out and about programmes, work experience, and tailored opportunities for those who may feel that science isn’t for them. We don’t receive any direct government funding.
 

The context of the claims

ACORN’s protest claims relate to two separate matters:

1. A historic donation in 2016 from an aerospace and defence company, Leonardo, with links to arms. The fund of £10,000 in 2009 and £16,056 in 2016 for the Tinkering Space exhibition, this was the last time we received funding from Leonardo. On 30 May we became aware (via an exchange on X) that the donor plaque was still up in the exhibition, and we removed it (13 June) as part of our ethics policy review. 
    
2. On 8 May one of the largest insurance companies in the UK (AXA Insurance) hired our event space for a private event. The insurance company is on a  BDS boycott list due to its investments in weapons companies.

We have an ethics policy that was implemented in 2019. We have not received any direct donations or sponsorship from arms and weapons manufacturers since the current policy was implemented. 

We do not endorse the positions or operations of those that hire our facilities. While we carry out checks on those who hire our spaces to ensure they don’t contradict our ethics policy, it is not practical to investigate the investment histories or affiliations of every attendee. As a charity with limited resources, it is not realistic or sustainable to do so.

This ethics policy, and others that we have in place, are currently being reviewed – a process which began in May before the protest – to strengthen them further and provide clearer guidance to our teams in an increasingly complex environment.   

On 16 May, some of our team raised concerns about our ethics policy around venue hire clients. We held an open forum on 18 June to talk it through, looking at our role as an educational charity, the Charity Commission’s guidance, and our ongoing ethics review. We also shared the next steps and invited everyone to contribute to the process. 

Together with guidance from the Charity Commission, this review is ongoing with input from the team and trustees. The updated policy and outcomes of the review will be publicly available following our August board meeting. 

This is part of our ongoing commitment to be a transparent, responsible and values-led charity that is responsive to its visitors and our environment.


Our values in a complex environment
We The Curious is a registered educational charity, we exist to bring people together to play and explore science and different ideas. We are delivering this mission in increasingly complex and polarised times, when trust in institutions is low. We understand people want to see real change and we are looking for ways to take positive action. 

While institutions can feel distant or faceless, we want to be clear – our charity is made of people who care deeply about our city, its communities and inequality. 

We’re always looking to improve, listen carefully and to respond constructively to challenge. Our ongoing review of our ethical processes and decision making reflect this commitment. The updated policy will be accompanied by resources and training to better support our team in navigating complex global and economic systems while remaining true to our values.

The protest actions on 19 July 
We support the right to peaceful protest and creating positive change. However, the actions of ACORN on 19 July crossed a line, specifically:

• Unauthorised entry into the venue
• Occupation of public spaces that created safeguarding risks
• Demands for free entry during a busy Harbour Festival weekend
• Unauthorised filming and photography of our staff and visitors
• Physical damage to our property, including breaking our exit gate
• Spreading misinformation, and making harmful, personal accusations against our staff

The group occupied our foyer space during a very busy Harbour Festival weekend, and the decision to flood the venue with people without proper admission or consideration directly compromised our safety and safeguarding responsibilities. As a result, this forced us to make the decision to close the venue early (4pm) to prioritise everyone’s safety and wellbeing. 

We were particularly distressed by claims made by protestors that our staff are complicit in profiting from genocide and calling into question their integrity and personal values. These accusations are damaging and completely unacceptable. 

Donna Speed, We The Curious Chief Executive has said:  
“I am incredibly disappointed by the events that unfolded on Saturday 19 July, and surprised that activists would target an educational charity which exists only for the benefit of the community, and that they have attempted to create a link that doesn't exist between a very old donation and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Our team responded with calm, professionalism and care and I want to thank them wholeheartedly. They worked with the protesters to make the situation as safe as possible given the challenging conditions

“We would’ve welcomed a conversation to discuss this matter with ACORN before they proceeded with this course of action and spread of misinformation, but the conduct we experienced was intimidating, disproportionate and simply not acceptable in a space created for families, communities and young people. 

“This incident has had real consequences, diverting charity resources away from our educational and community work, and also in terms of the direct impact to the wellbeing of our staff. 

We are proud of the values we uphold and the positive role we play in our city. This has strengthened our resolve to continue our mission with integrity and care.” 

 

Our next steps, keeping visitors safe and minimising future disruption 
We take the safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff very seriously. As a private property, we reserve the right to refuse access to any group or individual whose behaviour endangers or intimidates others, or who violates our values of inclusivity, safety and respect. 

As a result, ACORN members are no longer welcome to protest on our premises.
We’re working closely with Avon & Somerset Police to ensure visitors and staff are kept safe. 

• We The Curious has 24-hour security on site, which covers We The Curious, Millennium Square carpark, Millennium Square and Anchor Square.
• There is CCTV on site.
• We have increased security personnel on site for the duration of the summer period.

More about our security measures here 

If anyone was negatively affected by the action on 19 July or has questions about this statement, please get in touch on information@wethecurious.org or for press enquiries email press@wethecurious.org 

Statement in response to protest and free entry demand by ACORN - updated 24 July

 
On 19 July, We The Curious was disrupted by a protest led by ACORN Bristol. We’re deeply upset by these events. 

Both our team and our visitors were made to feel unsafe and intimidated in a space that is meant to be welcoming to all.  Our team responded with calm, professionalism and care and we want to thank them wholeheartedly.

This protest was in relation to a historic donation and a recent event in one of our venue hire spaces. 

We want to address up front, that we’re not in receipt of any funding from any arms companies, and that we stand against genocide and harm to human life of any kind.

There’s currently some misinformation circulating which we’ll address in more detail with an updated statement next week.

For now, our priority is the safety, wellbeing, and support of everyone who was affected.
 

Statement in response to protest and free entry demand by ACORN - updated 19 July

We weren’t aware of the protest and free entry demand by ACORN, our ultimate priority is keeping our visitors and staff safe.  

We closed our venue at 4pm for the rest of the day to ensure that everyone was kept safe. 

Our Chief Executive, Donna Speed spoke with an ACORN representative to talk through their letter and demands, she’ll be meeting with them along with our Chair of Trustees to work through the conversation together.

To give more context, the funding in question relates to historic funding of the Tinkering Space exhibit area in 2016, which is when we last received funding from Leonardo. 

Following questions around this subject in June through X by a few individuals, we removed the funder plaque referencing this company whilst we continued to conduct a review of our gift acceptance and ethics policy. 

This policy has been in place since 2019 and is already currently under review with our staff and board, to make sure it’s up to date and takes into account the economic and geopolitical environment. Any future funding offers will be assessed with the current geopolitical landscape in mind, working alongside the ongoing review.

Any return of funding would need to be considered by our Board, in line with Charity Commission guidelines (especially as it was in 2016, so funds already spent in furthering our mission) – so this’d also form part of the wider gift acceptance policy review.  

Following our August board meeting, we’ll publish our gift acceptance policy. We’ll publish more updates on this as we have them. 

If you’ve got any questions or queries, drop us a line on info@wethecurious.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.