Taking lifestyle advice from that famously adventurous artist Tracey Emin might not always seem wise, but she was surely bang on the money a few weeks ago when she told us to “join the membership for every museum you go to… That would make a hell of a difference.” It would, in two ways. First, it helps the precarious finances of our great museums, galleries and performing venues to have a substantial income stream from a group of loyal supporters. Second, it often proves life-transforming for those supporters as well.
Of course, you get the expected tangible benefits, from free entry to unlimited films for £12.99 a month or skipping the cloakroom queue, but then there are the intangible benefits. You feel part of the organisation — invested in its success. It also enriches your life. Visit a museum once and you skim round perhaps 1 per cent of its treasures. Take out membership and you have a year or a lifetime in which to embark on a detailed, leisurely journey of intellectual adventure and sensual delight.
Here we have rounded up a selection of the best cultural membership schemes. Now it’s over to you. Make a hell of a difference. Richard Morrison
Art
By Laura Freeman
Andy Warhol’s Green Marilyn (1962) is coming to the National Portrait Gallery The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by DACS, London.
National Art Pass
Cost: From £87 a year (or from £53 for under-30s)
What’s included: This is the biggie: a magic ticket, administered by the Art Fund, giving you free or discounted entry to more than 250 galleries, museums and heritage sites in the UK, from the Jupiter Artland sculpture park and Chatsworth House to Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and the Henry Moore Studios & Gardens. The pass also gives you 50 per cent off many exhibitions, including those at the British Museum, the Courtauld Gallery and the V&A.
Extras: A subscription to Art Fund’s art quarterly magazine and discounts in gift shops and cafés.
Shows to catch: Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, National Portrait Gallery, Jun 4 to Sep 6; Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism, Towner Eastbourne, May 7-Oct 18.
Value rating: 5/5
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Royal Academy
Cost: From £148 a year (or from £70 for 16-30s)
What’s included: Private members’ clubs in London can be several thousand pounds a year, but if you would like a quiet spot to take friends and contacts for coffee, the RA Keeper’s House gives you a clubhouse at a fraction of the price (it’s certainly cheaper than access to the National Gallery’s members-only restaurant). The Friends card also gives you and a family member free entry to exhibitions, along with previews and early-morning access.
Extras: A subscription to the (very good) RA magazine and 10 per cent discount in the RA shop and online — useful when it comes to Christmas cards and presents.
Shows to catch: Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam, Feb 25-Oct 25; Painting the French Riviera, Oct 2-Jan 31.
Value rating: 3/5
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National Gallery
Cost: From £45 a year
What’s included: There are three tiers of membership — Friend (£45), Exhibition (£68) and House (£130). The best value-for-money is Exhibition, which includes unlimited entry to exhibitions and members-only previews. House gives you access to Supporter’s House, a private members’ room where the cushions are soft and you can have a cocktail with your Canaletto. Depending on how often you go, a National Art Pass might give you more art bang for your buck.
Extras: Discounts in the gallery’s restaurants, cafés and shops and free use of the cloakroom. (otherwise £3 for a coat, £3 a bag). Also, private previews and visits to exhibitions with no need to book tickets.
Shows to catch: Zurbaran, May 2-Aug 23; Van Eyck: The Portraits, Nov 21-Apr 11.
Value rating: 2/5
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Tate
Cost: From £78 a year
What’s included: Tate is on a hot streak. Lee Miller, Turner & Constable, Tracey Emin… With a membership card you can walk into exhibitions in Tates Modern, Britain, St Ives and Liverpool, when it reopens, with no need to book or queue. See a show at 9am on the way to the office, or at an evening members’ event. Parents can bring up to six under-16s — useful in the endless holidays.
Extras: Tate Modern’s members’ room has spectacular views (although the acoustics in Tate Britain’s are awful). The quarterly Tate Etc magazine is a stylish accompaniment to exhibitions and a there’s a 10 per cent discount in the shop.
Shows to catch: James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain, May 21-Sep 27; Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern, Jun 25-Jan 3.
Value rating: 5/5
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National Galleries of Scotland
Cost: From £45 a year (from £20 for students)
What’s included: Get your Raeburn skates on and sign up for a membership scheme that gives you unlimited access to the National, Modern and Portrait galleries in Edinburgh, along with early exhibition previews, exclusive events and free entry for up to four children under the age of 18.
Extras: Enjoy a discount in gallery shops and cafés and, best of all, free parking at the Modern.
Shows to catch: Gwen John Strange Beauties at Modern Two, Aug 1-Jan 4.
Value rating: 4/5
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Henry Moore’s Upright Motives No 1 in Yorkshire Sculpture ParkAlamy
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Cost: From £85 a year
What’s included: Hello, clouds. Hello, sky. Hello, Henry Moore. Hello, Barbara Hepworth. Is there a more spectacular sculpture park in the country? Membership grants a year’s entry for you and a guest and 10 per cent off in the shop and café. If you go five or more times a year, it’s worth it.
Extras: Private tours of both the park and the wider afield.
Shows to catch: A Chronicle of Birds and Beasts by everyone’s favourite calendar girl, Angela Harding, Nov 14-Feb 28.
Value rating: 3/5
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The Bowes Museum, Co Durham
Cost: £20
What’s included: Entry to this magnificent museum, with its superb art and fashion galleries and 22 acres of park for 13 months and free access to exhibitions. A single-entry ticket is £19.50 so this is great value for money if you live near by. If you’re close, there’s a “locals” membership at £17.70.
Extras: Free entry to workshops and family events and priority booking. Under-18s go free.
Shows to catch: Vivienne Westwood: Rebel-Storyteller-Visionary, to Sep 6; Impressions of Light: Masterpieces from MuMa, Sep 26-Mar 14.
Value rating: 5/5
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Vivienne Westwood at the Bowes Museum © The Bowes Museum, County Durham/Photograph by Claire Collinson
Compton Verney, Warwickshire
Cost: £54 a year
What’s included: This handsome house in Capability Brown grounds is a gem — and an easy day trip from Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick or Northampton. Membership gives you admission to the park, house and exhibitions. Under-18s go free and the adventure playground and rainy-day art rooms are excellent.
Extras: There’s a 10 per cent discount in the shop (but not the café). If you sign up by direct debit, it’s £46 a year.
Shows to catch: Bruegel to Rembrandt: Drawing Life, Sketching Wonder, to Jun 28; Enid Marx, Jul 18-Jan 3.
Value rating: 5/5
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British Museum members will get priority booking for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibitionAlamy
The British Museum
Cost: From £82 a year (£62 for under 26s)
What’s included: Wondering how to score a ticket to the once-in-a-lifetime Bayeux Tapestry exhibition? Members get free priority booking for timed tickets ahead of the general public and can book up to two visits. The British Museum is free but its exhibitions can be expensive and frequently sell out — membership gets you round this, with other benefits like a subscription to the museum’s magazine, 10 per cent off in the excellent shop, and access to special events, from late-night exhibition viewings to tours and lectures.
Extras: There’s a good members’ website, with podcasts and virtual tours behind the scenes of past exhibitions.
Shows to catch: The biggie — The Bayeux Tapestry, returning to the UK after 1,000 years, Sep-Jul 2027
Value rating: 4/5
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Heritage
By Richard Morrison
National Trust
Cost: From £100.80 a year (£50.40 for 18-25s)
What’s included: Free entry and free parking at more than 500 sites from stately homes to glorious landscapes, as well as savings on tickets to outdoor theatre and shows.
Extras: A copy of the National Trust handbook, the National Trust magazine three times a year and discounts with brand partners such as Cotswold Outdoor and Craghoppers.
Events to catch: Guided tours of William Morris’s Red House, Bexleyheath, London. The Petworth Proms in Sussex is on May 14-16.
Value rating: 4/5
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English Heritage
Cost: From £82 a year (£42 for 18-25s)
What’s included: Free entry to more than 400 historical sites, including Stonehenge, Rievaulx Abbey and Dover Castle, and free or reduced-price entry to events. Parents can bring up to six under-18s with them.
Extras: Free parking with a membership car sticker, a handbook and a magazine.
Events to catch: Members’ Week tours, walks and talks, Kenwood House, London, May 26-31,
Value rating: 5/5
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Historic Houses
Cost: £71 a year (discounts for second person)
What’s included: This is the heritage organisation people often overlook, yet it unlocks the doors of many superb properties. Access to hundreds of historic houses, castles and gardens including Fulham Palace, Bamburgh Castle and the grandiose Wentworth Woodhouse.
Extras: A quarterly magazine and opportunities to book private tours around houses.
Events to catch: Garden of the year award 2026: the public vote to decide the best garden attached to a historic house.
Value rating: 4/5
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National Trust for Scotland
Cost: £79.20 a year (£45.60 for 16-24s, family membership from £94.80)
What’s included: Free access to castles, stately homes, battlefields and curiosities, from Falkland Palace to Robert Burns’s birthplace.
Extras: A handbook, a magazine three times a year and members-only promotions and events.
Events to catch: Family fun, Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire, Aug 14-16.
Value rating: 4/5
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Film
By Jake Helm, Jonathan Dean, Susannah Butter
Curzon
Cost: From £55 a year
What’s included: A haven for indie film lovers, this cinema chain’s classic membership package includes five free cinema tickets, discounts on additional tickets for you and a friend and priority booking. Given the price of tickets, cashing in on those five free tickets virtually covers the cost of membership from the start, making it a worthwhile investment for frequent cinema goers.
Extras: Exclusive preview evenings and discounts on food and drink. And discounts on films on Curzon Home, a selection of independent films you can enjoy from your sofa.
Events to catch: Special previews of The Christophers, May 5-14 and a Q&A with Ian McKellen at Mayfair Curzon on May 11, previews of The Balloonists at Mayfair Curzon, May 21.
Value rating: 4/5
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Picturehouse
Cost: From £65 a year
What’s included: Comfortable seats beckon you at this cinema chain that’s become a refuge from the multiplex melee. Its standard membership comes with five complimentary tickets and £3 off anything thereafter. The catch? Those perks stop short of Picturehouse Central, the beating heart of the operation. Access there requires an extra £25, although it does come with the civilised consolation of a roof terrace and a private bar.
Extras: Special screenings, discounts at local restaurants and 10 per cent off snacks and drinks.
Events to catch: Outdoor screenings of classics like Paddington 2 and Jurassic Park, from May 22, and a season of Martin Scorsese films.
Value rating: 3/5
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British Film Institute
Cost: From £39 a year
What’s included: As well as fee-free priority booking for the BFI Southbank, members get two free standard tickets, up to £2.50 off further tickets, access to the member row (the best seats) at the BFI IMAX and invitations to monthly events. Outside London there’s 15 per cent off BFI Player and priority booking at festival showings around the country.
Extras: An exclusive archive tour and 15 per cent off at the BFI shop.
Events to catch: Guillermo del Toro library late: a chance to explore books, art and writing about the film-maker, May 25.
Value rating: 4/5
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Odeon
Cost: From £16.99 a month
What’s included: The biggest cinema chain in the country offers four types of membership. For the top range, the £19.99-a-month My Limitless Plus, subscribers can see as many films as they like. While for the bottom rung, which is free to join, members get Monday discounts. Happy Mondays indeed.
Extras: Depends on what level you cough up for, but extras include member-only screenings, 10 per cent off food and drink and — where do we sign up? — popcorn on your birthday.
Events to catch: Book a member screening of The Devil Wears Prada 2 this month.
Value rating: 4/5
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Cineworld
Cost: From £12.99 a month
What’s included: Unlimited membership really is that — you can see as many films as you like.
Extras: Free popcorn on your birthday and, if that’s not enough, you get 25 per cent off the bill at partner restaurants.
Event to catch: Advance screenings, including of Ian McKellen’s The Christophers.
Value rating: 4/5
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Theatre
By Dominic Maxwell
National Theatre
Cost: From £84 a year
What’s included: This membership mostly serves as a donation to the National Theatre’s work, but it also gives you the chance to book tickets up to a week before general release — useful for snapping up hot tickets ahoy such as Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss in the Sophocles/Bergman mash-up Electra/Persona in the autumn. The Membership Plus (£210) gives expanded ticket options, while NT at Home (£99.98) gives digital access to recorded productions.
Extras: A what’s-on guide three times a year and a newsletter with behind-the-scenes content.
Shows to catch: The Jungle Book, adapted by Anupama Chandrasekhar and directed by Indhu Rubasingham, Nov 13-Feb 6 at the Olivier Theatre.
Value rating: 2/5
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Royal Shakespeare Company
Cost: From £20 a year
What’s included: Priority booking is often the big draw on memberships and when the RSC is bringing out shows like this summer’s The Tempest (with Kenneth Branagh) or Game of Thrones: The Mad King, and giving you between eight days’ and one day’s head start on the general public depending on whether you are a “patron”, a “member” or a “subscriber”, it makes sense.
Extras: The £50 membership gives you seat upgrades, food and drink and gift-shop discounts, under-18s offers and fee-free ticket exchanges and resale options.
Shows to catch: Middlemarch Parts I and II, adapted by Nina Raine and directed by Jeremy Herrin, Swan Theatre, Stratford, Oct 1-Jan 16.
Value rating: 4/5
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ATG
Cost: From £50 a year
What’s included: Theatre, comedy, ballet, pop concerts: ATG+ membership gives priority booking at the company’s 40-odd venues, from the Stockton Globe to the Sunderland Empire. You can get discounted tickets, skip transaction charges and change your dates (for the same show) if you give 48 hours’ notice.
Extras: 25 per cent off drinks during members’ happy hours (more than most membership schemes).
Shows to catch: Kristin Scott Thomas in The Cherry Orchard at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, Oct 3-Jan 9.
Value rating: 3/5
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Lowry
Cost: From £40 a year
What’s included: For those in the Manchester area, the Lowry’s loyalty scheme might be the best option. As well as priority booking, members can get two-for-one tickets for opening nights.
Extras: A 10 per cent discount at the gift shop and restaurant.
Shows to catch: The first regional production of the Old Vic’s version of A Christmas Carol, written by Jack Thorne and directed by Matthew Warchus, Dec 11 to Jan 10.
Value rating: 3/5
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Classical & Dance
By Neil Fisher
Lisette Oropesa will star in Bellini’s I puritaniPatricia Dietzi
Royal Ballet and Opera
Cost: From £122 a year
What’s included: The great dash at Covent Garden is not for the posh seats, but the more reasonable value amphitheatre (or even standing) tickets. So the canniest opera and ballet lovers, especially those who have their heart set on a particular date or cast member, make the most of their booking window and jump in the priority queue as soon as it opens. The other great benefit of any Friends membership is access to open rehearsals.
Extras: 10 per cent discount at the RBO shop, subscription to a quarterly magazine.
Shows to catch: I puritani with Lisette Oropesa, Jun 30 to Jul 19.
Value rating: 5/5
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Cost: £180 a year
What’s included: A better deal than offered by many other orchestras, joining the RPO Club gets you priority booking, two free top-price tickets per season, and 50 per cent off all further tickets (in all seating areas, but only two per concert) in London venues.
Extras: Complimentary concert programmes and 10 per cent off selected drinks at Cadogan Hall, London.
Shows to catch: Hisaishi x Scriabin: the concert features the UK premiere of Joe “Studio Ghibli” Hisaishi’s The Border alongside Alexander Scriabin’s The Divine Poem, Jun 5.
Value rating: 4/5
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Sadler’s Wells
Cost: £130 a year
What’s included: Sadler’s Wells, the thriving home to dance, runs an outpost in east London as well in Islington, north London. This is the fee to become a Rehearsal Member — a step up from basic membership — and it is worth it because you get invitations to at least four free dress rehearsals along with a 20 per cent discount on up to nine tickets (for most shows).
Extras: Invitations to season preview events.
Shows to catch: Still Pointless — BalletBoyz at 25, May 12-16.
Value rating: 3/5
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Birmingham Royal Ballet
Cost: £65 a year
What’s included: Carlos Acosta leads the touring company that has been based in Brum since 1990. He’s still dancing in some of the programmes — Myths and Modern Masters comes in August — but you’ll want that ticket priority for the best seats for Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The bronze level membership for £65 includes tickets to stage rehearsals and an annual event with Acosta and the chief executive officer.
Extras: Online chats with dancers.
Shows to catch: Sir Peter Wright Centenary, Birmingham Hippodrome, Jun 18.
Value rating: 3/5
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Music
By Blanca Schofield
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
Cost: £425 a year (£250 for under-35s)
What’s included: A new members’ lounge, the Greene Rooms, is opening this year at the UK’s foremost jazz venue. For now, membership includes free entry to the Late Late Show, 20 per cent off tickets for you and three guests, priority booking, fast track entry and members-only events.
Extras: A welcome keyring and a bottle of champagne every time you refer a new member.
Shows to catch: Lady Blackbird, May 4-5.
Value rating: 2/5
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Rough Trade
Cost: From £15 a month
What’s included: A Rough Trade CD or LP delivered to you every month, free shipping on all orders, early and exclusive access to events, special merchandise when you sign up.
Extras: 10 per cent off Rough Trade merchandise, 10 per cent off drinks and discounts from their favourite brands.
Shows to catch: Mitski at Electric Bristol, May 17.
Value rating: 3/5
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Roundhouse
Cost: From £35 a year
What’s included: Priority booking to the Chalk Farm venue in London, which is home to the Pitchfork Music Festival, the Roundhouse Comedy Festival and Three Sixty Festival of music, spoken word, theatre and more.
Extras: Access to the members’ bar, fast-track entry to the foyer and free express cloakroom if you upgrade to the Champion membership (£275).
Shows to catch: Hayley Williams, Jun 19-20.
Value rating: 2/5
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Harry Styles will curate the 31st edition of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festivalSamir Hussein/Getty images
Southbank Centre
Cost: From £60 a year
What’s included: Presale ticket access to concerts at the venue’s various concert spaces, no booking fees, free entry to the Hayward Gallery.
Extras: Discounts in the centre’s shops, cafés and bars. If you upgrade to Membership Plus you can bring a guest to the Hayward Gallery and the members’ lounge.
Shows to catch: Harry Styles’s Meltdown, Jun 11-21; Pulp, Jul 18.
Value rating: 4/5
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Additional reporting Ceci Browning and Alula Hart