Art is essential to humanity. People want to create for myriad reasons including the exploration and expression of difficult ideas, self-help and for the joy of others. It is primal, social and serves as a historical document. It can be a thing of beauty or a source of horror. It can offer endless comfort or an inspiring push out of the comfort zone. It can leave us cold or change our lives.
“Having access to art is more important than ever as it gets us off the screens and into a stimulating and thought-provoking environment,” says Daisy Bell, co-founder and director of Cramer & Bell, an art consultancy practice. “We live in a society where we spend more and more time behind screens, where we are zoning out of face-to-face conversations to watch reels or read a WhatsApp message. Experiencing art encourages creativity and self-expression and is proven to reduce stress and improve brain function. Art also gives people freedom of expression; whether political, environmental or social.”
Now, as the days lengthen, it’s the perfect time to broaden our cultural landscapes. Of course, art is perennially significant, but this summer there’s a notable abundance of extraordinary exhibitions opening up across the UK: it truly feels like a season of visual feasting.
And if you’re concerned about how you’re going to afford them all, that’s where the National Art Pass comes into play. With a National Art Pass membership, you can get free entry to hundreds of galleries and museums across the UK, as well as 50% off major exhibitions, and special offers in museum shops and cafes. And this summer it’s even more accessible with a three-month trial pass available for just £15 (book by 30 June). If this whets your cultural appetite, then at the end of the trial you can snap up full-year membership at 50% off the usual £79 if you pay by direct debit (don’t worry, it won’t do this automatically).
The trial offers a wealth of adventure – the chance to explore new artists and roam free over brand new creative terrains. By far the most imaginative way to spend £15. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few suggestions …
A standout exhibition is Fragile Beauty at the V&A in London. Some 300 photographs from Sir Elton John and David Furnish’s private collection – many of which have never been displayed in public before – have been curated to tell the story of contemporary photography. Portraits of Elizabeth Taylor and of Elton John himself (complete with actual egg on his face), hang alongside atmospheric still lifes and moments from the US civil rights movement.
Also at the V&A this summer is a celebration of Naomi Campbell and her 40-year career as one the world’s original supermodels. Featuring incredible couture pieces by the likes of Alexander McQueen alongside iconic stills, Naomi in Fashion promises to dive deeper than Campbell’s striking looks and diva reputation to “celebrate her creative collaborations, activism and far-reaching cultural impact”.
Over at Tate Modern, Yoko Ono’s Music of the Mind continues to move audiences with its focus on immersion and inclusion. Featuring some 200 works spanning seven decades of the Japanese artist’s career, audiences are invited to make their mark on the show in myriad ways: you can draw on the walls, hang your hopes and dreams on a tree, or cocoon yourself in a cloth sack as a nod to Ono’s legendary 1964 Bag Piece, which saw figures become living sculptures.
Away from the capital, Bell recommends Sylvia Snowden: Painting Humanity at the Hepworth Wakefield – the first European public gallery exhibition for the African American painter. “Snowden paints expressive and distorted figures using a thick impasto technique, which I’m always drawn to,” she says. “I love the Hepworth Wakefield and it has an excellent art trolly for kids, which always helps to get them involved and engaged.”
Other surefire hits of the summer include Barbie: the Exhibition at the Design Museum in London, where the evolution of the world’s most famous doll is comprehensively explored, and The Biba Story at the Fashion and Textile Museum, which charts the creation of the world’s first lifestyle label. Another must-see is Alice Irwin: Chinwag at Pitzhanger in west London, which closes at the end of June. Irwin’s first major exhibition in a London-based public gallery offers colour and cartoonish characters beautifully rendered in a range of mediums including screenprints and sculpture.
The National Art Pass lets you see more, for less. Sign up for a three-month trial membership for just £15 at artfund.org/national-art-pass
