Displaying items by tag: admission policy

Beginning in 2016, London’s Design Museum will offer visitors free entry to its permanent collection. The change to the institution’s admission policy is part of the new UK VAT refund scheme that encourages museums and galleries to nix entrance fees. The scheme allows qualifying museums and galleries to claim back value added tax incurred in relation to the collections for which there is free access, the buildings in which they are displayed, and their storage and restoration. The UK’s VAT refund scheme currently supports approximately 120 museums and galleries across the country, including Tate Modern, the National Gallery, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The change to the Design Museum’s entry fee will coincide with the institution’s move to its new home in Kensington. The museum will be housed in the former Commonwealth Institute building, which has stood vacant for over a decade.

When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opens its new building to the public in 2016, its free admission policy will expand from visitors 12-years-old and under to 18 and under. The initiative was spurred by the museum’s commitment to inspire more young people by promoting intimate art experiences and is intended to encourage repeat visits by Bay Area youths. The expansion is expected to result in as many as 30,000 additional visitors annually between the ages of 13 and 18.

The updated free admission policy was made possible in part by a $5 million donation from Arthur Rock and Toni Rembe Rock. Following the Rocks’ major gift, SFMOMA succeeded in raising the total $10 million endowment required to ensure free admission to the museum’s young visitors. The additional $5 million was donated by Maryellie and Rupert Johnson, Harriet Heyman and Sir Michael Moritz, Lisa and John Pritzker, Irwin and Concepcion Federman, and Patricia W. Fitzpatrick.

 Grant donor Arthur Rock, said, “It’s an honor to be able to further the Bay Area community’s ability to experience all that SFMOMA has to offer. The museum is an indispensable educational resource and an aid to personal development that must be provided to our children barrier-free.”