Your Friends membership

Are you already a Friend of the National Galleries of Scotland? Read on to find out more about the exclusive benefits you receive, your Friends card and your bespoke Friends events programme. You can renew or find out about upgrading. You’ll also find FAQs covering some of our most popular enquiries.

Got any other questions? Please get in touch with the Friends team. We're here to help.

Friends benefits

Unlimited free entry to all exhibitions for one year (during public opening hours)
Free entry for up to 4 family children under the age of 18
10% discount in all gallery cafés
See exhibitions first at Friends-only previews
An exclusive talks and events programme
Free parking at the Modern (when visiting)

Philanthropic Friends will enjoy these extra benefits:

Priority booking for Friends events
Invitations to selected exhibition Private Views and to a special curatorial talk or tour each year

Your Friends card

Your Friends card entitles you to all of the benefits outlined above. Please keep it safe and bring it with you to the Galleries when you visit.

If you have joined online, your card will be sent out by post with your welcome pack. If you are visiting the galleries before your welcome pack arrives, you can collect a temporary card and parking pass from the Modern One Information Desk or the National Information Desk (Gardens entrance).

If you need to order a replacement card please contact us.

Grayson Perry | Smash Hits

From Sat 22 Jul 2023 - Sun 12 Nov 2023

Tickets are now on sale for the biggest ever retrospective of Grayson Perry's work, gathering together 40 years of perceptive, provocative art from one of the UK's best loved artists.

Friends receive free entry to all National Galleries of Scotland exhibitions but are advised to book a timed ticket in advance to guarantee entry at your chosen time.

When booking, please ensure you select the 'Friends and Patrons' ticket type and log in using the email address linked to your Friends membership. Your exhibition ticket discount will then be applied at the checkout. If the discount is not applied, please contact us.

Book Now

Find out more about the exhibition

Friends events programme

We offer a wide range of exclusive events for Friends to enjoy. These range from peeks behind the scenes to day trips further afield, as well as regular talks and lectures.

Booking for Friends events opens on a specific day at the beginning of each season's programme. Each new programme will be sent to Friends by post and/or email, depending on your contact preferences. As our events are popular we advise booking as soon as possible after tickets are released to avoid disappointment.

The links to view quarterly online talks are sent out as part of the Friends email newsletter. No booking or advance registration is required in order to view these. If you have a Friends membership but do not currently receive our Friends email newsletter, please contact us to sign up.

Friends events

Our Friends

Special event SOLD OUT

Arniston House

Thu 1 Jun / Thu 8 Jun, 2.30pm

£20

+1 other sessions

Friends only, booking essential

More info

Our Friends

Tour SOLD OUT

Warriston Cemetery

Sun 14 May / Sun 4 Jun, 2.30-4.30pm

£12

Friends only, booking essential

More info

Our Friends

Tour SOLD OUT

Dean Cemetery

Sun 11 Jun, 2.30-4.30pm

£12

Friends only, booking essential

More info

Our Friends

Lecture or talk

Rediscovering Phoebe Anna Traquair

National

Thu 15 Jun 2023

6 - 8pm

£14, Friends and guests

Booking opens Wed 7 June, 10am

More info

See all Friends events

How to join or renew in 3 easy steps

1. Select your level
A Solo or Student Friend is for one person.

A Duo or Philanthropic Friend can be for two named cardholders who live at the same address OR a single named cardholder who can bring an unnamed guest with them when they visit.

All Friends can also take up to 4 family children under the age of 18 along with them for free.

2. Purchase
To join or renew online for yourself, please use the 'Buy Now' button under 'Membership for you'. If you choose to Auto-renew* you will benefit from a £5 discount.

3. Enjoy your benefits
If you join or renew online, your welcome pack will be dispatched by post within 10 working days. If you are visiting the galleries before your welcome pack arrives, you can collect a temporary Friends card and parking pass from the Modern One Information Desk or the National Information Desk (Gardens entrance).

*Auto-renew
Choose this option to benefit from a £5 discount. Your Friends membership will automatically renew each year, and you will continue to benefit from the discount, unless you cancel or there is a payment failure.

We'll send an email reminder before your auto-renewal. You can log-in to your account or contact us at any time before your expiry date to cancel. Please note that we don’t retrospectively refund auto-renewal payments.

Please also contact us before your expiry date if you wish to upgrade or make any changes.

We are unfortunately unable to set up a gift voucher to auto-renew online. If you would like to set up a recurring gift Friends membership, please contact us to discuss this further.

Upgrade at any time

You can upgrade your Friends membership at any point during the year. If you are a Solo Friend, why not upgrade to a Duo Friend for only £15 extra and take a guest with you each time you visit an exhibition?

Or become a Philanthropic Friend to enjoy additional benefits and support us further.

Frequently asked questions

As a Friend, you enjoy the benefit of free parking when visiting the Modern. Your Friends parking pass will be included with your welcome pack and is then issued to all Friends annually with your winter newsletter mailing. Please note that parking passes are not issued with your renewed Friends card.

The terms and conditions of the parking pass are as follows:

The pass entitles Friends to free parking at the Modern car parks and is non-transferable.
The pass must be displayed on your car window each time your car is parked to ensure free parking.
The pass is strictly only to be used for free parking when visiting the Modern during opening hours or for Friends events.

The car parks at the Modern have barriers in operation outside of opening hours. This is to help us better provide parking spaces for Friends and gallery visitors.

Car Park Opening Hours:
Modern One: Monday to Friday 8.45am - 5.30pm and Saturday/Sunday 9.45am - 5.30pm
Modern Two: 9.45am - 5.30pm every day

Need to order a replacement parking pass?

Please contact us.

When a Friends event sells out, we start a waiting list so we can pass on any cancelations. Please contact us to be added to the list. If you are on a waiting list we will contact you by phone or email if a ticket becomes available. If there is a lot of interest in an event we will always try to repeat it if at all possible. Friends on the waiting list will be offered tickets for repeat events first.

We will use the personal information you provide to administer your Friends membership and, if you have given your consent, to send you the email newsletters which you have asked to receive. We will manage the data in line with current data protection laws and will not share your data with third parties other than to fulfil the terms of your membership and to distribute our mailings. You can unsubscribe from our email newsletters at any time using the link at the bottom of the emails or by emailing [email protected].

For full details of the data we collect and what we do with it, see our Privacy Notice.

Contact the Friends team

Email: [email protected]

Phone: You can call the Friends team directly on 0300 003 0057

Phone - Friends Events: You can call our dedicated Friends events booking line on 0300 003 0062

Post: Modern Two Lodge, 72 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS

Contact form

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