‘Donate what you can’: Making the arts more affordable

Isobel Lawrance 4th Jan 2023 No Comments

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Thousands of ‘donate what you can’ tickets are being arranged for events across London during the cost-of-living crisis. Organised by The London Ticket Bank, this a joint initiative with Cardboard Citizens. In partnership with some of London’s leading cultural organisations, they are offering affordable tickets to those who could otherwise not engage in culture.

With events in music, dance, theatre and comedy, The London Ticket Bank’s partners to date include some of the leading cultural organisations across the capital, with more to be announced in early 2023.

Donate
Partner up

DONATE

The London Ticket Bank provides tickets at low/no cost to those who face barriers to accessing culture. It’s just one of the ways in which the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation is promoting the democratisation of culture. Donations of all sizes help to deliver this important work. Tickets for the London Ticket Bank are donated by cultural organisations but cost an estimated 78p each to administer.

£10.00 could enable 12 tickets to be made available, £20.00 could make 25 ticket available, £50.00 could make 64 tickets available and £100 could offer 128 tickets to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

PARTNER UP

Both mainstream charity partners and cultural organisations can partner up with The London Ticket Bank. They share access codes 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 their site.

You will also be able to pledge unsold tickets for your programmed events to those who will benefit the most. Simply let them know what you have available, and they’ll pass the opportunity on to charities. This is 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.

The London Ticket Bank is not the first scheme to offer subsidised or discounted tickets for performances and events. Organisations such as the Mousetrap Foundation, Tickets for Good, FanzClub, Black Ticket Project, and The Audience Club, have developed important access points for culture across the UK.

The London Ticket Bank was developed directly in response to the cost of living crisis. It also shows understanding of how increased deprivation directly impacts participation in culture.

The Jan–Mar 22 DCMS Participation Survey showed the gap in participation between the most and the least deprived segments widening. It increased from 6.4% to 7.2% and sadly, this will continue to widen.