Maria Balshaw has revealed plans for a free-to-join membership scheme titled ‘Tate Collective’ which will allow 16–25 year-olds to have access to ticketed exhibitions for £5, the Guardian reports. The membership will also include discounts in Tate’s cafes and shops as well as £5 entry for three friends of the membership-holder. Prices for tickets to Tate’s exhibitions have steadily increased: the current Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame Tragedy exhibition at Tate Modern costs £22 per full-paying adult and £20 per student, the reason for which Balshaw explains: ‘Larger exhibitions are more expensive to make and have a higher ticket price’.
The target demographic for the ‘Tate Collective’ membership currently counts for less than 10% of the institution’s visitors, and while the scheme has been developed in a clear bid to grow audience attendance, the lower ticketing price in conjunction with exhibitions that have a more affordable pricepoint (eg Joan Jonas at £11 per adult) should help make the Tate’s higher-priced exhibitions more accessible to a younger audience.
18 April 2018
