Get back to your favourite spaces as iconic museums reopen
Published Wednesday, 5th May 2021
Whether you love cutting-edge art, classical painting or artefacts from around the world, you’ll be able to see your favourites again as these major museums and galleries reopen.
We know you’ve been missing the inspiration and joy museums bring, and we bet you can’t wait to explore the art you love once again.
From galleries by the sea to city hotspots, we’ve rounded up some of the most iconic venues across the UK, so you can find out when they’re planning to reopen and what you can see with your Student Art Pass.
Major exhibitions such as Don McCullin at Tate Liverpool and Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser at the V&A are booking now – or perhaps you just want to return to your happy place in a permanent collection, and spend time with an old favourite.
So, take out your diary and start planning your next cultural day out. Here are just a few ideas to get you started…
Remember that many venues now require booking ahead and have additional measures in place for your safety; be sure to check their websites before visiting, and enjoy your day out.
Dates listed below are when the museums are planning to reopen, in line with the government’s roadmap.
Want more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram and join the #weareartful community for more ways to engage with the art you love. The icon signifies when there s a Student Art Pass offer
1. Natural History Museum
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
You can finally pay a visit to the Natural History Museum’s majestic blue whale, Hope, as well as explore galleries dedicated to birds, mammals, sea creatures and rocks and minerals. The Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature exhibition will reopen on 17 May, exploring a realm where real and magical creatures collide.
The Natural History Museum will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
2. V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
Missed being able to wander the V&A’s many galleries? From elaborate theatre models to stained glass and East Asian art, you’ll be able to see it all again as this dazzling venue opens its decorated halls once more. And we bet you can’t wait to visit the highly anticipated exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, due to open on 22 May and booking now.
The V&A will reopen on 19 May. Check their website for details and to book.
3. Tate Liverpool
Merseyside 50% off exhibitions
Tate’s major exhibition of work by legendary conflict photographer Don McCullin has been extended until 5 September and will reopen when the gallery opens its doors. Other highlights on offer include a free display of paintings by Aliza Nisenbaum, celebrating Merseyside’s NHS staff.
Tate Liverpool will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
4. Ashmolean Museum
Oxfordshire 50% off exhibitions 10% off
In the historic city of Oxford, the Ashmolean Museum is renowned for its wide collection of art and archaeological artefacts. The museum will reopen with a major exhibition exploring Pre-Raphaelite art on paper, Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours (from 18 May).
The Ashmolean Museum will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
5. National Museum of Scotland
Midlothian 50% off exhibitions
With dozens of galleries dedicated to everything from art, design, fashion and technology to archaeology, science and Scottish history, this major Edinburgh attraction is the perfect place to soak up Scotland’s national history. From 29 May you can see an exhibition exploring rare Viking objects, The Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure.
The National Museum of Scotland is open. Check their website for details and to book.
6. Scottish National Gallery
Midlothian 50% off exhibitions
Nestled in the heart of Edinburgh, the Scottish National Gallery is packed to the rafters with iconic works of art, from Rembrandt, Titian and Raphael to Angelica Kauffmann. It’s due to reopen from 6 May, with its modern and contemporary art counterpart, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, opening in two phases from 26 April and 16 May.
The Scottish National Gallery will reopen from 6 May. Check their website for details and to book.
7. Science Museum
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
With galleries dedicated to medicine, biology and space travel, engineering, technology and the environment, the Science Museum’s extensive collections and interactive spaces will be open for visiting soon. See astronaut Helen Sharman’s space suit or Britain’s Black Arrow satellite launch vehicle up close.
The Science Museum will reopen on 19 May. Check their website for details and to book.
8. Tate Modern
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
Missed your chance to see the anticipated Zanele Muholi exhibition at Tate Modern? Not to worry. The exhibition has been extended until 31 May so there’s still time to catch it. Combine your visit with a wander around the mesmerising Turbine Hall and the vast collection of modern art, pop in the gallery shop, or admire views over London from the viewing deck. And if you fancy doing the double, down the river at Tate Britain you can also catch Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s enigmatic portraits and Turner’s Modern World.
Tate Modern will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
9. Charleston
East Sussex 50% off entry and exhibitions
The former stomping ground of the collective of creatives known as the Bloomsbury Group – including Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant – Charleston is brimming with gems to explore, across the house, garden, studio and gallery. It reopens with two related exhibitions of work by Lisa Brice, an artist known for challenging the depiction of the female nude, and Nina Hamnett, known for her intimate portraiture.
Charleston’s house and galleries will reopen on 19 May. The gardens are now open. Check their website for details and to book.
10. Barbican Art Gallery
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
The Barbican’s vibrant spaces include multiple galleries and a spectacular greenhouse to explore. The gallery reopens with some fantastic exhibitions including Claudia Andujar: The Yanomami Struggle (from 17 June), exploring the life of one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples in Brazil.
The Barbican Art Gallery will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
11. Design Museum
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
From the Arts and Crafts movement to the history of London transport, furniture to book design, this eclectic collection celebrating the evolution of design will be open for visiting once more. The Design Museum reopens with the exhibition Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street, shortly joined by Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life, booking now.
The Design Museum will reopen on 18 May. Check their website for details and to book.
12. The Whitworth
Greater Manchester 10% off
This stunning art gallery in Whitworth Park boasts gorgeous, varied displays that transform the space with each new exhibition. Here you can visit artist Anya Gallaccio’s permanent installation in the park, a captivating steel tree, and see a new film by Imran Perretta, the destructors, which draws on the artist’s own experiences and explores the complexities of coming-of-age.
The Whitworth will reopen on 19 May. Check their website for details and to book.
13. BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Tyne And Wear 10% off
This vibrant contemporary art space in Gateshead is known for its inspiring and experimental exhibitions. With its reopening in May comes a great selection of summer exhibitions to add to your picks, including an immersive space imagining a robotic world of healthcare from artist duo Pakui Hardware.
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art will reopen on 19 May. Check their website for details and to book.
14. Towner Eastbourne
East Sussex 50% off exhibitions
This colourful gallery perched on England’s south coast will reopen with a host of exhibitions relating to the sea, including John Akomfrah: Vertigo Sea and England’s Creative Coast, perfect for a day out by the seaside.
Towner Eastbourne will reopen on 18 May. Check their website for details and to book.
15. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
East Sussex Free entry and free exhibitions
Immersed in Brighton’s cultural quarter, at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery you can see Salvador Dalí’s iconic Mae West Lips sofa or explore the life of David Bowie through a series of photographs taken by his close friend Geoff MacCormack.
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery will reopen on 18 May. Check their website for details and to book.
16. Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden
Cornwall 50% off entry
With an exquisite garden full of the artist’s original bronzes plus her full studio to explore, the Barbara Hepworth Museum provides an insight into the life and work of one of the 20th century’s best-known sculptors. This is the perfect spot to get that creative inspiration you’ve been craving.
The Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
17. Tate St Ives
Cornwall 50% off entry and exhibitions
This lively art gallery overlooking Porthmeor Beach celebrates the best in modern post-war and contemporary art, and its spectacular coastal setting is an added bonus! If you missed out on exploring South Korean artist Haegue Yang’s immersive installations in Strange Attractors, you can still catch this mesmerising exhibition until 26 September.
Tate St Ives will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
18. St Fagans National Museum of History
South Glamorgan 10% off
A rare ‘open air’ museum, St Fagans is made up of an expansive park, farm and historic cottages which have been reconstructed to tell the stories of Wales’ communities over time. Explore galleries and historic buildings such as a school, chapel and workmen’s institute at this outdoor wonder.
St Fagans National Museum of History is open. Check their website for details and to book.
19. National Gallery
Greater London 50% off exhibitions
The National Gallery is home to over 2,000 paintings, some dating all the way back to the 1300s. In July the gallery welcomes the exhibition Bellotto: The Königstein Views Reunited, featuring an impressive work recently acquired with Art Fund support, The Fortress of Königstein from the North (1756-58). And, in October the gallery will host the anticipated Poussin and the Dance exhibition.
The National Gallery will reopen on 17 May. Check their website for details and to book.
20. The Hepworth Wakefield
West Yorkshire 50% off exhibitions 10% off
The gorgeous garden at the Hepworth Wakefield is already open and perfect for spotting sculpture in the wild. Meanwhile, the gallery itself will reopen with an exhibition dedicated to the incredible life and career of acclaimed sculptor Barbara Hepworth.