Galleries ride the storm with easy payment plan

Apr 23 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

It has been five years since the Own Art payment scheme was introduced to give people a realistic chance of owning original art. Christopher Knox looks at how it is helping the region’s galleries cope with the recession.

WHILE most retailers of big ticket items are still struggling to come to terms with the effects of the recession, the region’s arts market continues to go from strength to strength.

One reason for this is the Own Art payment scheme, which was introduced in 2004 by Arts Council England to allow people wishing to purchase works of art and craft ranging from £100-£2,000, to pay in 10 monthly interest-free instalments.

The scheme is available through 270 galleries across England and Scotland, including 25 in the North East, and can be used to purchase anything from sculptures to photography.

It has since become a huge success in the North East, where more than £2.4m worth of art has been purchased through the scheme – the highest share of sales in the country.

Galleries across the North East have generated almost a quarter of the scheme’s £10.5m sales over the last five years, helping to satisfy the appetite of art lovers as well as support both the artists and galleries, including The Biscuit Factory and Vane Gallery – both in Newcastle.

New figures from Arts Council England also show that the scheme is reaching its target audience, with more than a quarter of sales being made to first-time buyers of contemporary art and 26% of loans being taken by customers with incomes equal or below the national average of £22,500.

The continued recession has made the scheme all the more important, with more than 82% of people saying that they could not have afforded to buy art if it wasn’t for the financial assistance it provided.