More Than a Sale: How the RWA and Own Art Champion Artists and Collectors
We recently visited the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol to explore this year’s Annual Open Exhibition – the 172nd in the gallery’s distinguished history. During our visit, we caught up with Ren Renwick, Director of the RWA and Mary-Alice Stack, Chief Executive of Creative United and Own Art. The pair shared their insights into how a long-standing partnership between the RWA and Own Art is helping to support creative livelihoods in the Southwest and beyond.
Founded in 1844, the RWA is Bristol’s oldest art gallery and has long stood as a hub for creativity, education, and artistic exchange. Its mission is to welcome, inspire, and enrich people from all communities and backgrounds through the power of art. The Annual Open Exhibition embodies this ethos by providing artists at every stage of their careers with the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work alongside hundreds of other contemporary creators – an invaluable platform for visibility and connection. This year, the show brings together more than 500 artworks by established and emerging artists, showcasing a rich variety of media and styles. Every piece is available for purchase, offering visitors the exciting chance to take home a work of contemporary art.
Ren Renwick, Director of the RWA, said: “The Annual Open Exhibition is absolutely the jewel in our crown each year. It’s so important because it supports artists directly – not only offering you the chance to exhibit your work, and we all know how important that is, but also offering you the chance to make a sale. When we started asking artists what it really meant to be supported, they asked for time, money, and courage. We can all understand why money is important for artists, but courage is something a little bit different. Artists must be brave, courageous and tenacious, but it can get lonely. When you make a sale, you have somebody who’s standing by you, validating you, empowering you, championing you as an artist. A sale for us is always more than just a sale.”
Thanks to the partnership between the RWA and Own Art, owning original artwork has never been more accessible. Through the Own Art scheme, buyers can spread the cost of their chosen piece over 10 months, completely interest-free – making it easier than ever to invest in contemporary art. This initiative opens the door for more people, particularly those on lower incomes, to experience the joy of collecting art. At the same time, it helps artists reach wider audiences, boost sales, and sustain their creative practice. Together, the RWA and Own Art are fostering a more inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable creative community and economy.
Mary-Alice Stack, Chief Executive of Creative United and Own Art, said: “The Own Art scheme has been around for 20 years and supports around 5 million pounds worth of sales a year. Each Own Art sale that occurs is doing much more than just putting a piece of art in someone’s home; it’s helping to support galleries and organisations like the RWA to continue to provide an entry point for people to discover original artwork. We know that we’re supporting a great many sales through lots of galleries – we’ve got a network of over 300 all over the UK – but the point at which an artist commits to actually exhibiting work, selling work, and finding an audience for that work is very important.”
Ren continued: “At the RWA, we are totally committed to supporting everyone to have a lifelong journey with art in whatever way is right for them – that might be as a professional artist, it might be for well-being, or to develop your skills, or it might be finding somewhere that just brings you joy. Being able to buy art could be an important part of that journey for an individual, and with the Own Art scheme, people are able to make purchases that were previously out of reach. It’s totally transformative.”
Mary-Alice added: “The Own Art scheme was originally set up to reduce financial barriers for people thinking about buying and collecting art – particularly for those who’ve never bought an original piece of art before. But the art market can be quite confusing, and there’s a lot of work out there, some original works and some reproductions. Understanding the technical process that has gone into making a piece of work is important, and we try to educate people on how to not only find an image or object that they love, but also to understand the process that’s gone into making it. Own Art is available through a network of galleries that prioritise selling original work by living artists. Every piece of work sold goes to support the living artist to continue to make more work and to pursue their career as a creative in the UK.”
As a registered charity, the RWA relies on generating its own income to continue supporting artists and creating opportunities for people to engage with art. Sales from the Annual Open Exhibition – along with the RWA’s other selling shows throughout the year – play a vital role in sustaining the organisation. Most importantly, though, these sales directly benefit the exhibiting artists, helping to support their creative practice and livelihoods.
Pricing artwork can be a real challenge for artists. When you consider the time, skill, and material costs involved, many pieces would rightly be worth thousands. Artists deserve fair compensation for their creativity, but they also need to keep their work accessible to buyers. That’s where Own Art makes a real difference, as Mary-Alice explained: “A piece priced at £1,500 can feel out of reach for many, but through Own Art, it becomes just £150 a month over ten months – far more manageable. This allows artists to sell their work at a fair price, whilst allowing buyers to own original art. Galleries and artists can rely on Own Art to be the bridge between affordability for the customer and proper compensation for the artist”.
Concluding their conversation, Ren said, “We love working with Own Art. It’s super easy to buy art with Own Art at the RWA. You just go to the welcome desk – we’ve got a fantastic team who know exactly what to do, and it’s a quick process. You can spread the cost and take away the artwork that you really love.”
Visit the 172 Annual Open Exhibition
6 Sep 2025 – 28 December 2025, Royal West of England Academy (RWA), Queens Road, Bristol. Price: £9.90 (concessions available)
Browse the entire exhibition online: https://www.rwa.org.uk/collections/172-annual-open-exhibition-artwork
Browse editions: https://www.rwa.org.uk/collections/editions-172-annual-open-exhibition-artworks
Follow the RWA on Instagram: @rwabristol
Discover our network of over 300 member galleries: https://www.ownart.org.uk/find-a-gallery/