English taking a lead from the Welsh? Surely not! Strange as it may seem to some, Arts Council England’s Own Art scheme is a welcome rip off of an initiative that has been running in Wales for more than twenty years.
The Arts Council of Wales’ Principality Collectorplan is a genuine arts policy success story. And like so many great ideas, it is mind bogglingly simple. Twenty-one years ago some smart eggs over in Cymru realised that there were plenty of people who wanted to own art, but who didn’t necessarily have the readies in their back pocket as they were browsing the gallery. The solution was to offer these potential customers interest-free credit, from £50 to £2000, for the purchase of individual or group works. They would have to put down a deposit of 10% and the loan would normally be approved within 7 to 10 days. The loans are repayable between 10 and 15 months, depending on the size, and the minimum monthly repayment is from only £10.
The scheme has been a success almost since the day of inception. Around 79 galleries now subscribe to the scheme nationwide and over 20,000 works have been sold. Arguably these are purchases that would not have been made without the credit being made available through the Collectorplan initiative. However, not all works are covered by the scheme, which principally aims to support contemporary Welsh arts and crafts, by living artists. The range of works supported by Collectorplan includes paintings, silverware, ceramics, sculpture, jewellery, prints, photographs and textiles.
Back in 2003, when Arts Council England first announced it might be interested in setting up a similar initiative, then head of communications for the Arts Council of Wales, Iestyn Davies, said he was surprised it had taken its English counterpart so long to see the benefits the scheme represented for artists and the art market. “What we’re seeing is that once people start buying art, the number of people who purchase multiple items is increasing. So not only are people starting off by the scheme, but they more and more [use the scheme] as a means of purchasing works of art,” he said.
Arts Council England eventually launched its national Own Art scheme in November 2004. Own Art operates almost identically to the Wales’ Principality Collectorplan, but its key aim is to develop the contemporary visual arts market in regional England, in areas outside London. Sir Christopher Frayling, Chair of Arts Council England, said he believed the scheme could bring about “a real change in the way we engage with the contemporary visual arts. The art market outside London is underdeveloped yet we know there is enormous scope for growth.”
A press statement issued by Arts Council England announcing the launch, made mention that “Arts Council research shows that there is the potential to double the existing market for original contemporary visual art. The Taste Buds report identifies 4.9 million people in England who have already bought and a further 5.9 million who aspire to buy.” The implication is that Own Art will contribute significantly towards realising the aspirations of these nearly 6 million potential purchasers. With around £6 million expected to be allocated to the funding pot, it may even be possible that Own Art will have the power to wrench hundreds, if not thousands of struggling contemporary arts and crafts persons from the financial quagmire.
According to a House of Commons Select Committee report, Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funding for Own Art in 2005-06 is £250,000, so buyers, participants and artists can expect the scheme to be administered smoothly. And one very welcome piece of news for artists is that participating galleries have to follow a Code of Practice, which includes a requirement to ‘pay a fair commission to artists and pay them promptly once a loan is agreed and the sale processed.’
The Scottish Arts Council launched its Own Art scheme 6 months ago and has already reported that more than 140 people have purchased new works of contemporary art and craft worth £84,000. The scheme is now being expanded to include a further 22 galleries and, like its English counterpart, the Scottish initiative is focused on increasing purchases in the more remote rural areas. Not surprisingly its main beneficiaries have appreciated the emphasis. Mary Smith, owner of the Bonhoga Gallery, says, “As one of Scotland’s more remote galleries, Bonhoga is delighted to offer a chance to purchase art on the same terms as venues in the city, thus removing another parochial barrier.”
The problem that the Own Art and Collectorplan initiatives are likely to share is one of success. In a Welsh Cabinet statement made in 2004, Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language, said: “The scheme has been so successful in recent years that the Arts Council has had to turn down many applications for funding simply because the budget has run out.” Thankfully for Welsh art buyers the Assembly Government agreed to stand as guarantor for the value of an increased loan from the Principality Building Society. The new loan almost doubled the total size of the fund to £1.1 million, with Principality accepting that the rate of return on the loan would be 3% – about half what it might expect on a commercial loan.
The Own Art schemes in England and Scotland are administered by HFC (a division of HSBC) so one can only hope prospective purchasers will not be turned away because the funding pot has run dry. Although as more London galleries are allowed to participate in the scheme the potential for emptying the funds coffers will inevitably increase.
Given that the UK has the second largest arts and antiques market in the world, second only to the USA, the contribution of initiatives like Own Art and Collectorplan to the overall value placed on the market – estimated by Market Tracking International to be around £3,467 million – is negligible. But in as far as these schemes will allow generations of people to own art they could otherwise not afford, their contribution towards a sense that contemporary cultural heritage is accessible and can be enjoyed, and owned, by all, is priceless.
For more information read:
www.artswales.org/page.asp?id=66
www.artscouncil.org.uk/ownart/index.html
www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/artsinscotland/visualarts/ownart.aspx
