Introduction to the Tate St Ives

 Tate is a huge name in art in the UK.  They have three huge museums; Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool and one smaller one, Tate St Ives.  Tate Liverpool is currently being refurbished though until 2027 and is in the much smaller RIBA North.  The Tate museums are generally free but you pay and have to book to go to the major exhibitions.  This is not the case for Tate St Ives, you can enter the building for free but you need to pay to enter any of the galleries.

The building is lovely.  It sits above Porthmeor Beach and has a grand loggia that was designed to capture and amplify the sounds of the sea.  You can sit in there on ampitheatre style seats, open to the air, but largely sheltered from the Cornish elements and just listen to the sea, although you can not see it.  This loggia is above road level but there are a variety or routes in including a shorter stepped route, a longer stepped route with more distance between steps and a sloped route with no steps.

Beyond the loggia is the entrance, a revolving door, which I always find fun!  If you want to avoid this door, there is another door to the left.  Once inside there are lockers for you to leave your belongs (you just need a £1 coin) and free coat hooks, great for hanging outerwear, damp from the Cornish elements.

The building is built into the hill, so has multiple levels.  The stairs are a lovely part of the building with different windows and views.  There is a lift though and you need to go up to enter the exhibition spaces.  You can also go up to the top where there is a balcony with amazing views of St Ives.  To get to the balcony, you have to go through the cafe.  The cafe is free to access as well as the balcony.  The shop is also up here and it's in a lovely bright room.  Anyone expecting the sheer delight of one of the huge shops at other Tate museums may be disappointed, there just isn't the space here but it's a nicely curated and displayed collection of items.

So that's the free parts of the building!  The rest you need to pay to enter.  

If you live anywhere in Cornwall, the best option is to get a Locals Pass for £10.  This not only gives you free entry to the Tate St Ives for a year, but it also gives you entry to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives.  If you go on to the Tate website you can create an account and make sure details like your address are added and correct.  This is preferred by the gallery as it speeds things up for them.  You then need to take two pieces of ID, one with an address on it proving Cornish residency.  

Once at the gallery, it was a quick process.  I handed over my ID and gave my email address, then they compared my listed address with the address on my ID.  I was issued a plastic card with a barcode.  This is your ticket to enter for the next year.  When you want to go in to the exhibitions, you need to have a locals pass or ticket to be scanned.

If you are not a local, the price of tickets varies depending on what exhibitions are open.  It takes a considerable amount of time to change over exhibitions so there are periods of time when there is considerably less to see and the price is reduced to show this.  Your ticket does not include entry to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Its definitely worth looking in advance to see what's on.  It's still worth going when they are changing over the exhibitions but if you can go when there are more things to see, it's definitely better.  A few years ago, the Tate was extended into the cliff behind, doubling the exhibition space.  The new galleries are generally used for a major exhibition which changes a few times a year.  There are ongoing exhibitions in the original part of the building as well as a gallery which also changes exhibitions regularly.

The gallery has lots of events on with different talks and tours.  There are also special events for children with Toddler Tate for under 5s and a range of options for schools etc.  There are lots of fun things for the young at heart throughout with collections of objects for you to build your own works of art.  There are also less structured, more playful spaces.

There are also short events and some may have reduced entry, for instance Winter Festival 2025: Come as You Really Are on the 30th November has £1 entry.

Tate St Ives has put a lot of effort into increasing accessibility.  They have a great section on their website that gives information to help you prepare for your visit.

Book your visit: Tate St Ives | Tate

Locals Pass Information: Tate St Ives Locals Pass | Tate

What's On: What's On | Tate (Make sure it's sorted for the St Ives location)

Visual Story:  Tate St Ives visual story | Tate (Great information to prepare for your visit)

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