Cultural Centers That Provide Free Access or Discounts to Disabled

Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2019/03/18 - Updated: 2024/05/14
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Disability Discounts and Deals - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: List of free and discounted entry to the arts, museums, cinemas, and other cultural institutions for persons with disabilities. Adrian Edwards-Smith first began an advocacy for free and/or discounted entry to the Arts in NYC - despite local politicians, who considered it a silly idea.

Introduction

Disabled World recently received an email from Adrian Edwards-Smith. Adrian recently began an Advocacy for free and discounted entry to the Arts in NYC. Upon reading Adrian's accomplishment we considered his work would benefit many people with disabilities and approached him in regards to publishing his work on Disabled World. Adrian agreed, and the following list highlights his personal successes since June 2018, when he first began an advocacy for free and/or discounted entry to the Arts in NYC - despite local politicians, who considered it a silly idea. Adrian ignored them, and went ahead with his mission on his own; unpaid, with no support, and personally negotiated everything listed below.

Main Content

Adrian wrote:

"Sure, I have a huge list, and my Advocacy has been successful - but it was a war, and still is - NOTHING was easy... and not one Politician or Elected Official stood next to my proposals for the Disabled. Not one......The reality. The truth. The sad facts. This is America, and NYC... The reality..."

However, Adrian succeeded in his on-going mission as the list below proves!

Note: Caregivers for the disabled always enter for free.

U.S. Cultural Institutions Offering Free Access or Discounts to People with Disability

US Museums

• ICA Museum - Boston - Free admission. Joined in Dec 2018.
• The de Young/ Fine Arts Museum - San Francisco - Free admission. Joined Jan 2019.

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NYC Cultural Institutions

• Asia Society - Free at all times, plus a discounted Membership for their Special Events.
• Brooklyn Historical Society - Free at all times, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• Brooklyn Museum - Pay as you wish Museum - They updated their website to include the Federally Disabled, and now allow discounts to any visiting exhibitions.
• Children's Museum of Manhattan - Box office discount.
• Cloisters Museum - Pay as you wish for those who identify as being Disabled.
• Cooper Hewitt Museum - Smithsonian - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• Dia Arts - Beacon - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• Dia Arts - Chelsea - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• Drawing Center - Free at all times.
• Frick Museum - Box office discount, plus currently negotiating a discounted Membership.
• International Center of Photography - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• Japan Society - Free at all times, plus a discounted Membership.
• Jaques Marchant Tibetan Museum - Free at all times.
• Jewish Museum - Free at all times.
• Louis Armstrong Museum - Box office discount.
• Met Breuer Museum - Pay as you wish for those who identify as being Disabled.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art - Pay as you wish for those who identify as being Disabled.
• Museum of Arts and Design - Free at all times, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• Museum of Food and Drink - Box office discount.
• Museum of Jewish Heritage - Box office discount, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• Museum of the Chinese in America - Free at all times, plus a discounted Membership.
• Museum at Eldridge Street - Free at all times.
• Neue Galerie - Box office discount, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• New York Transit Museum - Box office discount.
• Noguchi Museum - Free at all times, plus a discounted Membership.
• Rubin Museum - Box office discount.
• Sculpture-Center - Free at all times.
• Society of Illustrators - Free at all times (limited access to wheelchairs)
• Tenement Museum - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• The Morgan Library & Museum - Box office discount, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• The New Museum - Box office discount, plus a discounted Membership.
• The Skyscraper Museum - Free admission to those who identify as being disabled. Also a discounted membership for those who are disabled as well, should they wish to become members.
• Wave Hill - Free at all times.
• Whitney Museum - Box office discount, plus currently negotiating a discounted Membership.

Cinemas

16 so far:

• Manhattan
• Queens
• Brooklyn
• Broadway / Off Broadway

Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas - Began their National Discounted Policy late February, all their 50 plus Cinemas across the U.S. now offer discounts to the Disabled from West Coast to East Coast.

Broadway Theatre - Discounted pricing to match the Senior and Student rate.

Broadway / Off Broadway - The Theatre Development Fund now offers a discounted membership for those who are Disabled who can now receive vastly discounted Broadway/ Off Broadway tickets.

Jewish Museums Across the U.S.

• Baltimore Jewish Museum - Discounted admission, plus a discounted Membership.
• Milwaukee Jewish Museum - Discounted admission, plus a discounted Membership.
• Philadelphia Jewish Museum - Free admission.
• Skirball Jewish Museum - Los Angeles. Free admission.

Holocaust Museums Across the U.S.

• Chicago Holocaust Museum - Discounted admission, plus negotiating a discounted Membership.
• Dallas Holocaust Museum - Discounted admission, plus discounted Membership.
• Houston Holocaust Museum - Free admission to their newly built Museum (to open in late Aug 2019).

Cultural Institutions in Other Countries Offering Free Access or Discounts to People with Disability

Canada

Canadian Museums in Agreement:

• Museum of Fine Arts - Montreal. Free admission.

Israel

Museums in Israel in Agreement:

• Holon Design Museum - Discounted admission.
• The Israel Museum - Jerusalem - Discounted admission, plus a discounted Membership.
• The Tel Aviv Museum - Discounted admission, plus a discounted Membership.

Reportly Declined a Discount or Free Admission for Persons with Disabilities

• Guggenheim Museum
• The 911 Memorial Museum
• The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

If you know of an addition we should add to the list - or a discrepancy - please contact us.

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.