Support the
Barbican appeal

Help us create life-enriching experiences through Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning. Find out how your support has helped us achieve our goal.

From free events to bespoke outreach programmes, we work with people of all ages and backgrounds to ignite curiosity and develop creative skills for life.

These programmes are funded by donations from people like you, who support open access to the arts – for everyone.

A gift to the Barbican Fund will help us continue to empower people, especially those most often excluded from the arts, to unlock their creativity, express themselves and inspire others.

Your support helps the Barbican be even more inclusive, welcoming and accessible, inspiring a new generation to discover their creative voice, supporting communities and bringing new audiences closer to the arts.

We believe the arts have the power to transform lives, and that everyone should have access to them. They are not a luxury, but for all to enjoy.

NOYO Cheltenham Star Academy April 2019. Photo: Paul Blakemore

NOYO Cheltenham Star Academy April 2019. Photo: Paul Blakemore

Help us reach even more people with our innovative Creative Learning programmes

One of our initiatives - the Barbican Guildhall Associate Schools programme - is a tailored three-year partnership between the Barbican and schools with limited arts provision. We deliver a series of bespoke arts-based activities and projects, such as artist-led workshops and school visits, trips to the Barbican and training for teachers.

This work inspires teachers to harness the power of creativity across the curriculum, and to widen access to the arts for all. Our 2016-2019 pilot Associate Schools programme engaged 3,335 young people with 68 individual projects, working with 166 artists and amassing 1,983 contact hours with teaching staff to ensure dramatic and long-lasting change at our partner schools.

‘The Barbican has been extremely motivating for my son. He loves to go there and always seems relaxed. My son loves the creative work he does and shows this by bringing home his pictures and putting them in his special favourite things folder.’
Parent of a student at The Garden School, a school for learners with autism in Hackney

'Having access to arts and culture is very, very important for our students. It helps improve everything – from self-esteem and confidence to relationship and communication skills '

Laura, Drama Teacher at The Garden School

Credit: Camilla Greenwell

Credit: Camilla Greenwell

As you might imagine, we are ambitious to deliver even more initiatives like this.

Your support will help turn innovative ideas into life-enriching experiences, enabling all kinds of people – including learners in under-served schools – to develop creative skills for life.

Your gift of £12 could cover the cost of a discounted ticket to a Theatre performance for a student from one of our Associate Schools

Your gift of £25 could provide a tour of our Art Gallery and a welcome lunch for a vulnerable adult

Your gift of £50 could enable a small group from a local charity or community group to visit our Art Gallery free of charge.

We know there is a demand for what we do. Last year, more than 100,000 people attended our free community events, and we were proud to support over 22,000 people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in our Creative Learning programmes and workshops.

Credit: Camilla Greenwell

Credit: Camilla Greenwell

Award-winning learning at The Garden School

We recently won a national award for delivering ‘real and long-lasting opportunities for young people and children’ for our work with The Garden School, part of Barbican Guildhall Associate Schools Programme. Our innovative programmes make a real and lasting difference to participants, teachers and the school communities.

Photo: Mark Allan

Photo: Mark Allan

We feel spoilt by all of the opportunities we have all experienced – both pupils and staff. The enrichment the pupils have experienced is unbelievable
Deborah Snowden, Dance Teacher at The Garden School

Watch our short film about The Garden School project:

Arts teaching time in secondary schools has fallen by 23% since 2010. We believe that no child should miss out on the benefits of arts-based learning. It’s proven to improve behaviour, performance across the curriculum and future employability. Yet funding challenges and narrowing curriculums continue to threaten the status of the arts in mainstream education.

You can help to turn pioneering ideas into life-enriching experiences for many more people, by supporting our appeal.

How has the power of music, theatre, film, poetry or visual arts changed your life for the better?

You can help us in giving that same opportunity to others when you support the Barbican.

Walthamstow Garden Party. Credit: Camilla Greenwell

Walthamstow Garden Party. Credit: Camilla Greenwell