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The Barbican is placing the next generation at the heart of the Barbican's future with its revamped Young Barbican membership scheme, offering exclusive events, benefits and discounts, and more.

Open to anyone aged 16-29 and free to join, the refreshed Young Barbican membership scheme offers greater access to the Barbican's programme across visual arts, music, cinema, theatre and dance, alongside opportunities to connect with other young people through specially curated monthly events, creative experiences and social activities.

Young Barbican members will benefit from expanded ticket discounts across the Barbican's 
programme, including £6 cinema and gallery tickets and the opportunity to bring a friend aged 16-29 for the same price, 10% off food and drink and 10% off in the Barbican Shop and online. Young Barbican members will also receive a digital membership card and access to a year-round programme of exclusive events.

This refreshed offer extends eligibility age from the previous cap of 25 up to and including 29, 
recognising the changing realities facing young people today and making the scheme accessible to thousands more people.

Beau Vigushin, Chief Experience Officer, said: 
"Young people need affordable opportunities to connect, be inspired, express themselves and 
experience the world beyond their everyday lives. Young Barbican makes that possible, so more 
young people can discover what excites them, connect with others and be part of something special.”

Reena Kalsi, Lead Producer (Creative Collaboration & Learning), said:
“What's exciting about the new era of Young Barbican is that it has been shaped by young voices from the start, primarily by a steering group of staff in the age range. They collectively expressed that young people need more than just affordable tickets (though that’s important too!): they want spaces to meet people, explore ideas, discover new artists and feel part of something bigger. Our Young Barbican scheme reshapes our Centre not just as a place to visit, but as a place that belongs to young people, where they can meet and make new friends, discover new experiences together, and can play a role in shaping the future of the Barbican."

Alongside benefits, discounts and regular programming developed with younger audiences in mind, such as Barbican’s late night party series anyone can dance, Young Barbican will introduce a new programme of exclusive monthly events developed to bring young audiences together through art, conversation, creativity and social connection. This first season of exclusive Young Barbican events culminates with the much-anticipated return of the Young Barbican Takeover in March 2027.

Highlights from the first season include:

• October 2026: Young Barbican: Moving Together: A Devising Workshop with Artist 
Seyi Adelekun: Drawing on the histories of Black activism, join Seyi Adelekun for a 
participatory workshop, exploring how we can move together, interrupt a pattern and take 
up space for collective reimagining. 

• Special free event – November 2026: Young Barbican: Conservatory Sunday: Presented 
in partnership with Wayward Plants, we have secured an exclusive Young Barbican session 
to give our members the chance to get their hands on one of the much-coveted propagated 
plants from the Barbican Conservatory ahead of its restoration, alongside creative workshops 
led by Earth Tenders and activities curated specially for this event. 

• December 2026: Young Barbican Pick & Mix: Signal Decay, a programme of short films like 
the ones you’d find at 2am on channels you didn’t know existed, paired with a social curated 
by Barbican Young Film Programmer alumni and archivist Raageh Ali.

• January 2027: Young Barbican: IRL Sessions, a stripped back, unplugged and intimate live 
music experience designed around deep listening and discovery.

• February 2027: Young Barbican Pick & Mix: The Whole World is Watching, a screening 
and discussion of The Whole World is Watching, a programme of short films built entirely 
from non-cinematic media to highlight the ethics and power of everyday footage, curated by 
filmmaker and Young Film Programmer alumni Olivia West Alvarez.

• March 2027: Young Barbican Takeover: A one-day takeover festival curated for and by 
young people across the Barbican Centre, inspiring connection and creativity. In previous 
years, activities on offer included a roller-disco, rosette badge-making, zine workshops and 
poetry in the conservatory, collaborating with collectives at the forefront of London’s young 
creative scene such as Material Grrrlz, Compass Collective and ARCCA. 

Tickets for these events will go on sale on Monday 14 September 2026. Tickets and further 
information for Young Barbican Takeover 2027 will be released soon.

A new Young Barbican Recommends series will also offer discounted tickets to events selected by Barbican staff under 30, helping members discover the best of the Barbican's programme across artforms. New hand-picked events will be added regularly to the Young Barbican page and in a weekly newsletter. 

The scheme relaunch reflects Barbican’s commitment to young audiences, supporting creative 
participation and ensuring young people play a meaningful role in shaping the organisation's future. The relaunch offer has been developed in collaboration with young Barbican staff members and forms the first step in a wider listening phase that will engage young audiences, artists, creatives and local communities.

Tickets for the monthly events start from £6 and must be booked by logging into a Young Barbican account on the Barbican website. Joining the membership is free at barbican.org.uk/youngbarbican