Whitney Museum will be free for all visitors 25 and under starting in mid-December

The Whitney Museum will be free to all visitors aged 25 or under, starting in mid-December.

The museum has been free for visitors 18 and under for more than a decade. In January, it debuted a new initiative making Friday evenings and one Sunday a month free. Full-price tickets during paid hours cost $30, which is the same admission price as the MoMA and the recommended price at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Artist and Whitney trustee Julie Mehretu said the museum wants to be more accessible to New Yorkers.

“When I moved to New York, I was waiting tables — it was hard to access contemporary art and culture, as it’s hard for so many students, graduates and young people,” she said in a statement. “If you really want to push and evolve the discourse, many more people need to have access.”

The free Friday and Sunday programs have doubled the Whitney’s average attendance from paid hours, according to a museum spokesperson, with those visitors being 10 years younger and more than 60% of them identifying as people of color. During paid hours, roughly 20% of visitors are 25 or under, the spokesperson said.

The museum’s internal analysis shows that the 19- to 25-year-olds now receiving free admission are also more diverse.

Mehretu, along with trustee Susan Hess, made the expanded admission possible via three-year gifts.

“We are so grateful for the support of our generous board members, who care deeply about engaging new audiences,” said Whitney Director Scott Rothkopf in a statement.

The museum cautions that free admission still requires tickets, which can be reserved online.