A grassroots WhatsApp group in London has created an ingenious solution for cash-strapped artists who can't afford expensive gallery admission fees. The Artist Membership Project operates like a creative heist movie, with membership cards hidden in lockboxes around the city that anyone can access with a simple code.
The project launched three months ago when curator Ben Broome recognized that artists couldn't afford the £18-20 tickets that major institutions now charge for exhibitions. His solution was elegantly simple: crowdfund gallery memberships, purchase lockboxes, and create a WhatsApp group where 700 people now share access codes. The cards get passed around several times daily, making art accessible to those who create culture but can't afford to see it.
For creatives who spend most of their time staring at screens, seeing physical artwork remains irreplaceable. No amount of Pinterest boards or social media browsing can replicate standing in front of actual work – experiencing the texture, scale, and how light hits a surface. These elements simply don't translate through digital screens, making physical gallery visits essential for genuine artistic inspiration.
The financial barrier has become increasingly problematic for young artists and freelancers. When exhibitions cost £20 each, viewing three shows monthly adds up to £60 – making art consumption feel like a luxury rather than a professional necessity. This economic reality hits particularly hard considering that UK artists now earn 40% less than they did in 2010, with a median income of just £12,500.
Broome describes the project as "a little bit clandestine, a little bit punk," and predictably, institutions are furious about the card sharing, which explicitly violates membership terms. However, the project has demonstrated genuine hunger for access, prompting some galleries to respond positively. The Whitechapel Gallery's director wants to explore supporting artists, while the Barbican is working with Broome to develop a subsidized membership program.
The initiative operates more as a provocative stunt than a systematic scam, highlighting the absurdity that people creating high culture can't afford to experience it. Already showing signs of wear, the waterlogged cards are barely usable, one lockbox has seized up, and the Barbican has twice cancelled Broome's membership for "suspicious activity." The project wasn't designed for longevity but rather as a way to spotlight institutional accessibility problems.
The inspiration came from a simple conversation during a studio visit with a recent graduate who expressed interest in seeing the Ed Atkins show at Tate Britain but couldn't afford the £18 admission fee. That moment crystallized the urgent need for creative solutions to cultural access barriers.
While the project is ultimately doomed due to practical limitations, it represents exceptional creative problem-solving that demonstrates how artists will organize themselves when institutions fail to meet their needs. In an era where digital references dominate and inspiration gets reduced to social media performance metrics, this guerrilla network helping people see actual art feels quietly revolutionary and genuinely heartening.
