Knowledge Base

Own Art is open to all UK residents over the age of 18, subject to status.

No, although you may apply for the scheme as a ‘house person’ if you are living with a partner who is employed. In this instance, you must quote your partner’s employment details. Other exceptions include student nurses or part-time students (provided you have at least 16 hours per week of regular paid employment).

We are able to guarantee a 0% rate for customers – and keep the scheme affordable for our member galleries – by subsidising the cost of the loan with funding from Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council of Wales.

No. Own Art is only available through galleries, museums and other arts organisations that have been approved by Creative United, Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland or the Arts Council of Wales as registered members of the scheme.

Works of contemporary art and craft of many different kinds fall under the scheme, including sculpture, painting, photography, textiles, limited edition prints, fashion, jewellery, glass, furniture, ceramics and multimedia works – provided they’re created by a living artist. In some galleries, you can use Own Art on works of art by artists born in the 20th or 21st century. Ask your gallery for more details.

That's because we want the scheme to help support the artists of today by encouraging sales of their work to new buyers.

Own Art can only be used for the sale of original prints. This refers to prints made using traditional printing methods (e.g. screenprinting, lithography, etching). It also includes original digital prints where the artist has used digital technology specifically to conceive and create an image in this medium. Giclée prints that are reproductions of original images created in other media are excluded, even if they have been signed and numbered by the artists.

The minimum loan amount is £100. This can either be for the purchase of a single item, or for a group of items where the combined value is £100 or more.

Own Art is available from £100 - £2,500. Credit can go towards the payment of an artwork(s) that costs over £2,500, provided you can cover the remaining balance in cash or with a credit or debit card.

Some galleries also offer Own Art up to the value of £25,000 over 10 months or 20 months. Ask your gallery for more details.

If the gallery is arranging additional services for you such as framing or delivery you can choose to include these charges as part of your Own Art loan. Please make sure you have told the gallery that you wish to do this at the start of the loan application process.

Yes, there is no limit to the number of times you can use the scheme and you can have multiple agreements live at the same time. Each application would be subject to a full credit search and affordability checks at the time of application.

An application for credit may be turned down by Novuna for a number of reasons. If this happens you will receive an email explaining their decision.

No deposit is necessary when applying for Own Art, although you can pay a deposit if you wish.

Your first payment will normally be debited from your account around 4 weeks after the date on which you received the artwork. You will also receive a welcome email from Novuna confirming the date.

Yes, this is possible by contacting Novuna Consumer Finance directly or using the Novuna app.

No. Own Art loans do not have early redemption charges. If you would like to pay off the loan, you can contact Novuna Consumer Finance to do so at any time.