UK residents and tourists are fortunate to be able to visit the nation’s top museums and galleries free of charge, but tickets to special exhibitions can be costly. To make these often record-breaking exhibits more accessible to young people, Tate is now offering a reduced admission fee of £5 for visitors aged 16 to 25.

Although various membership schemes do make tickets cheaper, a full price adult ticket to Tate Modern’s current Picasso exhibition, for example, is £22 and a student ticket is £20. A £5 ticket is currently available for 12 to 18-year-olds when visiting with their family.

The new scheme will enable many more young adults to experience Tate’s leading cultural events in London, Liverpool and St Ives.

“We are acting on what 16 to 25-year-olds say they want so that we can make the changes needed for future generations,” said Tate director Maria Balshaw.

“Our sector should be shaped by their creative energy and their message to us is clear: arts institutions should plan ‘with’ not ‘for’ them. To do this it is important their voices are heard across the organisation, not just in niche programming.”

The £5 tickets are part of the new Tate Collective initiative, which is a free membership programme open to young adults around the world. The membership programme also entitles them to bring up to three friends for £5, and gain discount in the shop and café.

Alongside this, Tate is appointing a new Trustee that will be tasked with representing the younger generation in the organisation’s decision and strategy-making processes.

“Recruiting a new Trustee – a cultural entrepreneur and digital native – will support this across Tate. And with Tate Collective, our exhibitions are made accessible to this younger generation,” said Balshaw.

The new approach to young visitors is a response to Tate’s own research, which found millennials wanted to do take part in cultural activities but found many of them too expensive.

The research, called Circuit, which was carried out over four years and listened to 175,000 young people, also recommended that cultural institutions engage with youth groups, diversify their staff and provide a space for young people to discuss social issues.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock supported the announcement. “We care deeply that Britain’s incredible cultural experiences are available to the next generation,” he said.

“It’s fantastic that Tate is to make their world-class exhibitions more accessible to young people and give them a voice at the highest level by recruiting a Trustee to represent them. Young people are the cultural leaders of the future and it is important we do all we can to support their creativity and ideas.”

To join Tate Collective, go to tate.org.uk/tate-collective.

The full Circuit report can be found at tate.org.uk/about/projects/circuit.