Ticket Bank Offers Free & Affordable London Shows

The Ticket Bank is a new initiative from the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation and Cardboard Citizens offering free and affordable show tickets for cultural events in London. Partnering with some of the capital’s leading cultural organisations, the aim is to offer tickets to those who could otherwise not engage in culture. With events in music, dance, theatre and comedy, the partners to date include some of the leading cultural organisations across the city of London, with more to be announced in early 2023. Organisations so far include The Almeida Theatre, Barbican, Bush Theatre, Gate Theatre, The National Theatre, Roundhouse and Tara Theatre.

How does the Ticket Bank work?

Launching on Monday 9th January as a one-year programme, The Ticket Bank will make an estimated 1,000 tickets a week available to those who would otherwise not be able to afford to engage with culture during the cost-of-living crisis.

To date, seven leading cultural organisations have committed to the charitable initiative with more to be announced in the new year. Each cultural organisation has pledged tickets for theatre, comedy, live music and dance performances at a donate-what-you-can rate via The Ticket Bank web page on the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation website. A donation can be of any amount and even the most modest of gifts will be celebrated.

The Ticket Bank will be working with the following partners to ensure that tickets reach the people and communities historically under-served by cultural organisations:

Centrepoint, a charity working with young people experiencing housing precarity and homelessness;

The House of St Barnabas, a Soho-based charity that helps London’s homeless back into work;

The Longford Trust, a charity supporting young adults to rebuild their lives through education after serving a prison sentence;

Positive Action in Housing, an independent, anti-racist homelessness and human rights charity dedicated to supporting refugees and migrants to rebuild their lives;

A Network of Food Banks across the capital providing emergency food and support to people locked in poverty;

and relevant Outreach programmes of cultural organisations as well as Cardboard Citizens, Union Chapeland The Big House.

These partners will provide access codes direct to their programme participants to enable them to book tickets via The Ticket Bank.

Chris Sonnex, Artistic Director and joint CEO of Cardboard Citizens, said:

“Access to art and culture are essential to the human condition, a human right. If people can’t afford these riches, society is poorer off. I’m incredibly proud of the London arts and culture community coming together to offer tickets city wide to people who, through no fault of their own, are on or under a poverty line. It is a real act of change, and it will give many people, who couldn’t otherwise, the opportunity to be entertained, to see other worlds, to escape and most importantly to dream”.

Caroline McCormick, Chair of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, said:

“Very rarely you come across an idea that is so simple and brilliant that you can’t believe it doesn’t already exist. When Chris Sonnex told me his idea for The Ticket Bank, my response was as simple as his idea – “we have to make this happen.” Today I’m very proud to be announcing the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation’s partnership with Cardboard Citizens on The Ticket Bank which from January 2023 will connect thousands of people in London who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access culture during the cost of living crisis with our finest cultural institutions”.

About the cost-of-living crisis effect on culture

The effect of the cost-of-living crisis on cultural participation is evidenced in the DCMS Participation Survey covering January to March 2022, with a decrease in participation of 0.4% in the five most deprived groups, and the gap in participation between the most and the least deprived growing from 6.4% to 7.2%.

The scale of the potential impact in 2023 is further signposted in current findings by the Cultural Participation Monitor Survey. 74% of those surveyed said the cost of living crisis meant they expect to do less paid-for entertainment and leisure activities over the next year.

Cultural organisations are already reporting that few performances and events are reaching more than 70% capacity. The Ticket Bank aims to make available to audiences who wouldn’t otherwise be able to engage with culture the important resource these unsold tickets represent.

How to get involved

For mainstream charity partners, the Ticket Bank shares access codes for you to pass on to the people you work with who would like to access culture across the capital. These codes can be used to book tickets through the events listings on this site.

For cultural organisations, joining the Ticket Bank enables you to pledge unsold tickets for your programmed events to those who will benefit the most. You simply tell the Ticket Bank what’s available, and they pass the opportunity on to charities, via a special access code. Cultural partners can also offer access to the Ticket Bank to their own outreach programmes pertaining to those impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

You can make a donation and support the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation in promoting the democratisation of culture. Donations of all sizes help to deliver this important work. Tickets for the Ticket Bank are donated by cultural organisations but cost an estimated 78p each to administer. By donating £10.00 you are enabling 12 tickets to be made available, £20.00 makes 25 ticket available, £50.00 makes 64 tickets available and £100 supports Ticket Bank to offer 128 tickets to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

Make a donation

Twitter: @CulturalPhilFdn

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