Art Gallery of Ontario says new annual pass has led to surge in young visitors
Posted Nov 26, 2019 11:39 am.
TORONTO — The Art Gallery of Ontario says its experiment with free admission for teens and young adults is here to stay.
The Toronto gallery introduced a pilot project back in May that offered patrons aged 18 to 25 a free annual pass in exchange for personal information including their email address and postal code.
Older visitors pay $35 for the pass, which grants unlimited access to the AGO collection and special exhibitions. Single-visit tickets without a pass or membership are $25.
Just six months into the experiment, the AGO says more than 100,000 people have signed up — roughly 70 per cent of them people between the ages of 14 and 25 claiming free passes.
Passes are optional for those aged 14 to 17, while those younger than 14 don’t require a pass for free admission.
The gallery’s CEO Stephan Jost says the program has injected “a new energy and vibrancy” in the galleries.
“The next generation of art lovers is here,” Jost said Tuesday in a release.
The AGO says it has 103,955 annual pass-holders, with visitors between the ages of 14 and 25 accounting for 72,940 of pass-holders.
When Jost introduced the cheaper pass in May, he said the scheme would be revenue-neutral if the gallery sold about 120,000 passes while maintaining its roughly 100,000 members, who pay a premium for perks including coat check, early previews and a members’ lounge.
The AGO said Tuesday that membership has held steady over the past five years at 100,000, but it wasn’t immediately clear if numbers dipped over the past six months.
Those more costly membership tiers start at $45 for students and $110 for individuals, and go up to $2,499 for top supporters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2019.
The Canadian Press
