Free the South Kensington Three

The latest stage in the Free for All museum admission charges campaign was marked by a demonstration at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Free the South Kensington Three is part admissions charges campaign initiated by BECTU's National Visual Artists' branch.

The demonstration and the Victoria and Albert Museum on 20 May coincided with Museums Week, when admission to the V&A was free, and demonstrators noted that far more visitors attended than usual.

The three South Kensington based national institutions, the Science Museum, National History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, are all museums which currently charge an entrance fee, but where once free. The campaign is pressing to restore and extend the principle of free entry to publicly funded museums and galleries nationwide.

Jan Woolf, of the National Visual Artists' Branch, commented: "The budget news on the funding for non-charging galleries and museums that ensures they need not charge was encouraging. We welcome and congratulate the Government in stopping the 'charging rot'."

However the three South Kensington museums may still continue to charge.

The Free for All campaign is run by BECTU's National Visual Artists' branch, the National Campaign for the Arts, ENGAGE and VAGA.