Where can I use my ICOM card in the UK?

The ICOM card is just one of the many benefits you receive from your professional membership of ICOM.

Acceptance of the ICOM card is discretionary.  If you plan to visit a specific museum or exhibition in the UK or abroad (especially popular museums and blockbuster exhibitions), we always recommend you contact the museum ahead of your visit to check if the ICOM card is accepted and if there is a booking procedure.

We kindly ask members to take note of the arrangements for each individual institution and follow the requirements for booking tickets and presenting your ICOM card and photo ID when you visit.  As reciprocal tickets may be limited, we also ask that if you are not able to use the ticket you book, make sure you cancel your ticket so it can be made available to someone else. 

Please note this is not a complete or exhaustive list.  We thank our members for helping us to create and maintain this list.  Please contact us at membership@icomuk.org if you become aware of any changes or additions to this list.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Ashmolean Museum 

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Axminster Heritage Centre

Free entry to paid sites

Barbican Art Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

The Bowes Museum

Free entry to the museum and temporary exhibitions

British Library

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

British Museum

  • Agreed reciprocal entry with the ICOM card is valid every day in person, subject to availability.
  • Advance booking is only available on Tuesdays. Book via the website www.britishmuseum.org and select ICOM, ICOMOS, MA, agreed reciprocals (including NMDC) under the concessions tab.
  • Photo ID will be required alongside your ICOM card and your digital ticket for checks on site.

Charles Dickens Museum

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

The Courtauld Gallery

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibition

Design Museum

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

The Freud Museum London

Free entry to paid sites

Glasgow Life Museums

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions.

Discovering Degas exhibition – The Burrell Collection – Free entry May 24th – September 30th 2024

Reciprocal tickets can be obtained FOH at the ticket desks for on the day of your visit, subject to availability. Tickets are for ICOM card holders only and your ICOM card should be presented at the ticket desk to redeem entry. A Photo ID will be required alongside your ICOM card.

Guildhall Art Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Hayward Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

The Hepworth Wakefield

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

Imperial War Museums

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Kettle’s Yard

  • Free House Tickets with your ICOM card (temporary exhibitions are free and can also be pre-booked).
  • Book online and select ‘NMDC / ICOM / MA’ to book your free ticket.
  • Please bring your ICOM card and photo ID alongside your digital ticket for entry.

Leighton House & Sambourne House

Free entry to paid sites. Book online in advance and bring your ICOM card as valid proof of membership.

MK Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

The National Gallery

  • Free entry to temporary exhibitions.
  • Tickets will be available to book online or from the ticket desk (first-come-first-served basis when time slots have not sold out online). The only way to guarantee entry is to book online in advance.
  • On the exhibitions booking page, select the date and time of your visit, then scroll down to select the ICOM – FREE ticket option.
  • Please bring your ICOM card and photo ID alongside your digital ticket for entry.
  • Please check the National Gallery website for up to date information prior to your visit.

National Museums Liverpool

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

National Museums Northern Ireland

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

National Museums Scotland

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

National Portrait Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Natural History Museum

  • Free entry to temporary exhibitions.
  • Please bring your ICOM card and photo ID.

Old Royal Naval College

Free entry to paid sites

The Photographer’s Gallery

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

Royal Academy of Arts

Booking is subject to availability. ICOM members will not be able to use their ICOM card for complimentary entry during the opening and closing two weeks of RA exhibitions. A Photo ID will be required alongside your ICOM card.

Royal Museums Greenwich

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

Science Museum Group

  • Free museum ticket needs to be booked in advance but, subject to availability, you can book Wonderlab tickets at the museum.
  • Photo ID will be required alongside your ICOM card and your digital ticket for checks on site.

St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery

Free entry to paid sites / temporary exhibitions

Tate

Booking is subject to availability. As for many other museums, galleries and exhibitions, ICOM members will not be able to use their ICOM card for reciprocal entry during the opening and closing weeks of Tate exhibitions.

To book your tickets, ICOM members should go to the Tate website and select the exhibition, day and time you wish to attend.  Once you are on the ticket selection page, scroll to the bottom where you’ll see a drop-down box labelled ‘View more ticket options including Art Pass’ – this is where free tickets for reciprocal organisations are.

When arriving at any Tate site, and at exhibition entrances, ICOM members should present their ticket, alongside their ICOM card and photo ID, for entry.

V&A South Kensington

  • Free exhibition tickets for reciprocal entry.
  • Tickets will be available to book online only at vam.ac.uk, under the concessions tab on the V&A’s main booking page.
  • Please bring your ICOM card and photo ID alongside your digital ticket for entry.

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto opens at the V&A on Saturday 16 September 2023. The show will be very busy across the course of its run, and as a result, reciprocal entry will not be available for this exhibition. Full reciprocal access remains in place for DIVA, and for Tropical Modernism and other V&A exhibitions opening in early 2024.

V&A Young

  • Free exhibition tickets for reciprocal entry.
  • Tickets will be available to book online only at vam.ac.uk, under the concessions tab on the V&A’s main booking page.
  • Please bring your ICOM card and photo ID alongside your digital ticket for entry.

V&A Dundee

V&A Dundee has a separate booking system from the V&A in London. To book free tickets for V&A Dundee exhibitions with your ICOM card, please call +44 (0)1382 411611 or visit V&A Dundee in person.

Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village

Free entry to paid sites

Whitechapel Gallery

Free entry to temporary exhibitions

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