Life Hack for Art Lovers on a Student Budget
Let’s face it, student life can be stressful. And one of the worst parts about it is that whenever you complain about exam pressure, having to single-handedly complete group projects or mistakenly mismanaged finances that led to your eating peanut butter toast for 3 meals a day, is that adults keep telling you that “these are the best days of your life” and that “it only goes downhill from here!”. The actual worst part is when you start to realise that that’s true – but that is for another post.
That being said, there are many advantages of being a uni student that you really need to make use of as much as humanly possible over this time of your life – and the number one is student discounts. All hail the businesses that recognise how contortedly tight the wallets of the young student can be, so these discounts are not to be laughed at. They can make the difference between whether or not you can participate in all the events that London has to offer: Afternoon Tea in Paddington anyone? The Tate Collective, about which this Ode is written, even bases membership on your age rather than whether or not you are enrolled at a university, which is much more fair practice.
While young art lovers in London know that the majority of its museums have free entrance to its permanent exhibitions, some even offer concessions to students for the exclusive temporary ones too. The Tate Collective is an awesome free membership for art enthusiasts aged 16 to 25 (and they are specific about this. Your membership lasts until midnight on the day before your 26th birthday, so remember to bring a Photo ID to prove that you are deserving of said discount because they absolutely will check).
It is also one of the few memberships that is open to young people from all over the world – and who needs a discount more than student travellers? You may have scoured the internet for student specials, discount flights and hotel deals in London Paddington (because, let’s face it: accommodation in Paddington and other central areas is not cheap!) – but this life hack is one of London’s finest.
This membership applies to the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern in London, as well as the Tate St Ives and the Tate Liverpool. You will snag 20% off food and drink bought from the museum and 10% off at the gift shop. However, the real pull factor is that you get specific access to coveted exhibitions for a mere £5.00. While they only release a limited number of Tate Collective tickets per day per specific entry time slot, this is a huge save.
For frame of reference, the 2019 Tate exhibition rates saw General Admission tickets being sold between £15.00 and £22.00 (without optional donation, which we know is not aimed at this particular target market). That meant you would have been able to see artworks by Olafur Eliasson and Van Gogh for a third of the price or less!
This is one deal you cannot afford to miss!
