How to Get Started

The Own Art scheme is available through our network of member galleries for the purchase of contemporary art and craft of any kind and in any media.

That means you can choose more or less anything you want from paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture to glassware, ceramics, jewellery, furniture, and textiles. Whatever you decide to buy, it must be made by a living artist as we want to support the artists of today by encouraging sales of their work to new buyers. In some galleries, you can use Own Art on works of art by artists born in the 20th or 21st century.

The first stage is the difficult bit - deciding what to buy. There are hundreds of Own Art member galleries across the country to choose from, many of which specialise in different types of work. Use our gallery finder to search for the kind of work you are most interested in.

Follow our step-by-step guide below find out how to simple it is to request a loan from one of our member galleries.

1. Are you eligible?

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

This means that you must be able to meet one of the following criteria in order to apply for a loan:

Working at least 16 hours a week (employed or self-employed)
A retired person in receipt of a pension
A person in receipt of disability allowance

If you do not meet one of these criteria but are married to or living with a partner who does, then you may still apply provided that your partner is happy for their income details to be included on your application form.

2. Ask for Own Art

Once you've found the piece of work that you want to buy, just let the gallery know that you'd like to apply for Own Art to finance your purchase.

Don't forget that if you are applying for Own Art in person you will need to show proof of ID – this could be in the form of a utility bill or just simply your driving licence -- along with a credit or debit card as proof of signature.

3. Complete the application

Staff in the gallery will take you through the loan application process, which normally takes about 10 minutes.

Once you've given all the information they need, you'll get an instant decision.

A deposit is not necessary (although galleries may ask for one at their discretion).

4. Take your artwork home

Once the agreement has been signed, the process is complete. You can take your artwork away there and then!

You will receive a welcome letter from our finance partner Novuna Consumer Finance and following this the 10 monthly payments will be collected from your account via direct debit.

This usually starts about four weeks after you have made your purchase. You can contact Novuna to change the payment date to one more convenient for you.

If you have any more questions regarding the application process, please check our FAQs.