Museums Tickets Are Expensive. Here Are My Solutions.
For the past few months, I’ve made a conscious effort to thoughtfully plan out my art-viewing field trips. Sometimes my schedules were based purely on location — as in, I’m already in the neighborhood — and more often than not, it’s based on cost. While art galleries are free to visit, museums and art fairs are pricey. Many museums in NYC have adult ticket costs over $20 and major art fairs can be around $50 or higher. With my goal set to visit a large number of these fairs and art venues each month, I found myself looking for creative ways to afford it.
While I’ve always been pretty savvy with spending the least amount of money possible, now it’s a financial necessity. My solution was to immediately shift into research mode and discover what my options were.
Here are my ways to access museums that do not offer free admission:
1. Visit on Free, Pay-As-You-Wish, or Suggested Admission Days: The days and exact times will vary from venue to venue. But be forewarned, if you plan on visiting a popular museum — especially one with a well-reviewed show — you will most likely be waiting in a VERY long line. I once waited for close to two hours (in the bitter cold) to visit the Frick because they had a fantastic show on JMW Turner. The other downside is that the galleries are extremely crowded, so it’s not entirely ideal art viewing.
NYC-Arts Info Link (Note: some of this information is outdated, but it’s still a great place to start)
Here are some of my favorite museums (as a quick reference):
The Frick Collection: Every wednesday is “pay what you wish” from 2-6pm, and the first friday evening of the month (except in Sept. & Jan.) from 6-9pm admission is FREE.
MoMA: Every friday evening from 5:30-9pm is FREE.
Whitney Museum of American Art: Every friday evening from 7-9:30pm tickets are “Pay-What-You-Wish”
The New-York Historical Society: Every friday evening from 6-8pm tickets are pay-as-you-wish.
The Morgan Library & Museum: Every Friday from 7-9pm admission is FREE.
Guggenheim: Every saturday evening from 5-8pm tickets are pay-what-you-wish. Please note: until Feb 18th the Guggenheim is offering reduced admission tickets while they install their next exhibition.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Met still offers suggested admission tickets daily, but only for New York State Residents with valid I.D. (yes, they asked me for it!) or New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Students with valid I.D. Also, these tickets cannot be purchased from the kiosks or online; you must wait in the ticket line. How much should you give them? Honestly, give what you can afford. When I was a struggling student, I gave them $1 per visit. On my most recent visit, I gave them $10. They will be fine, all the tourists are paying full-price!
2. Sign-up for a New York Public Library Card, it’s FREE!: Their Culture Pass NYC program started in July 2018 and gives you FREE admission to many of the top art museums in the city! (sometimes they give you guest passes too!). Passes are reserved in advance on their website and many of the museums will just scan the reservation directly from your phone at the admission desk. There is one major caveat, you really need to plan ahead— as in planning many months ahead— especially for some of the “popular” museums. Their website states, “Passes will be released three months in advance on the first of every month.” So mark your calendars to check! I tried to reserve tickets to the Whitney in December and only March tickets were left. I even checked again this morning and no passes were available at all, meaning they are sold out for three months. Additionally, you can only use your NYPL card once per calendar year for each museum or art institution.
3. Sign up for an IDNYC, it’s FREE!: This works only if you are a resident of NYC. The ID is valid for five years, but the culture-related benefits change year-to-year. After you have your card in hand, head straight for the museum’s membership desk to apply for your free museum membership. Yes, that’s right MEMBERSHIP, as in, able-to-visit-multiple-times-a-year-and-access-members-only-benefits-and-discounts membership. Many of the city’s top art institutions participate in this program including: The Met, The Shed, and MoMA.
4. Become a member of the American Alliance of Museums: To qualify you need to work in the art world or be a student. While there is an annual fee to become a member — $90 for an art professional and $50 for a student or retired individual— this will gain you free or discounted admission to many of the museums who are also members. There are two major benefits of this membership: it includes many different types of museums including science, botanical gardens and natural history, and 4,185 museums are members across the United States. That means when you’re traveling out of town, you’ll likely be able to visit a museum at no cost to you. It is important to note that not every museum associated with the AAM will give you free or discounted admission. It’s best to check each museum’s website or call their visitor services department directly.
5. My wildcard option — text a friend!: Most of my friends fall into one (or more) of these categories: they work in the art business and have access to free or discounted tickets; they work for a large corporation that has corporate memberships to museums with extra free passes; or, as art lovers, they are members of museums, which also yield free guest passes.
In other words, if a museum exists, I will find a way to be able to afford to attend. 💪
Art fairs, regretfully, are another animal entirely. At the moment I’m relying on Google to help me find promo codes for reduced price or free tickets with not a great deal of success. In the past, I’ve always leaned on my “wildcard” option. Fingers crossed a few of those pan out for the fairs I’m planning on attending in L.A. next month!
Do you have any strategies to share?