What is Own Art?

Own Art makes buying art easy and affordable by letting you spread the cost of your purchase over 10 months with an interest free loan from as little as £10 per month.

How much can I borrow?

Own Art loans allow you to borrow from as little as £100 up to a maximum of £2,500 for the purchase of works of art (which includes ceramics and craft) by living artists.

Although there isn’t a limit on the amount of times you can use Own Art, we suggest that you do not apply for more than one loan at the same time. Every loan application will be subject to a credit check, and your application may be declined if you have not yet already established a repayment record for an existing Own Art loan, or if the total amount of credit you have asked for is considered by the finance company to be too high in relation to your income.

£100 is the minimum that can be borrowed (this would be repaid in monthly instalments of £10), but it is possible to use this to cover several lower value items with a combined value of over £100.

If you are buying something more valuable than £2,500 you can use an Own Art loan as a part payment. Please note that you cannot apply for multiple Own Art loans to cover the costs of a single purchase.

Are you eligible?

Own Art is available to all UK residents over the age of 18, subject to status. This means that you must be able to meet the following criteria in order to apply for a loan:

  • Over the age of 18
  • A permanent UK resident
  • Working at least 16 hours a week (employed or self-employed)
  • A retired person in receipt of a pension

If you are not working but are married to or living with a partner who does meet the above criteria, then you may still apply provided that your partner is happy for their employment details to be included on your application form.

Ask for Own Art

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

Don't forget that if you are applying for the loan in person you will need to show proof of ID – this could be in the form of a utility bill or your driving licence - along with a credit or debit card as proof of signature. Staff will take you through the loan application process, which normally takes about 10 minutes. Once you've given all the information we need, you'll get an instant decision.

A deposit is not necessary (although we may ask for one at our discretion, should you wish to take the work home with you immediately).

Live with the art you love

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 Hitachi Capital 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 Hitachi to change the payment date to one more convenient for you.

For more information see http://www.ownart.org.uk/what-is-own-art/