To find out where to buy art using Ein Celf/Own Art, or how to become a member gallery in Wales, please visit:
Own Art: From the Gallery to Your Home Collect Art with 0% Finance
The Own Art scheme is available through a network of member galleries in Wales and the rest of the UK, both online and in-store, helping customers to purchase the art and craft they love.
The Own Art scheme, which will also adopt the name Ein Celf in Wales, remains a publicly subsidised scheme. It is operated by entrepreneurial community interest company Creative United, who also offer galleries training and support. Loans are provided by, and guaranteed, by Novuna Capital Finance. Because the financial risk is taken on by Novuna, neither Arts Council of Wales nor the galleries bear any risk in relation to the loans.
*This will not affect any current loans or loans made up to 31 October 2024, under the former Collectorplan scheme.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Collectorplan, and why have you transferred to Own Art?
Launched in 1983, Collectorplan was one of the first schemes of its kind in the UK. Offering interest-free loans, the scheme made it possible to spread the cost of buying contemporary art and craft over a 12-month period. It has been a way of encouraging the widening of access to the arts, while also supporting the livelihoods of artists and makers living in Wales, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. A network of over 70 galleries across Wales offered the scheme, which has successfully facilitated over 40,000 art purchases in Wales over the last 40 years.
Inspired by Wales’ Collectorplan, Arts Council England launched Own Art in 2004. Own Art is now managed by Creative United, and operates across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and now, Wales.
Moving Collectorplan to Own Art’s fully digital service substantially upgrades the provision in Wales, with member galleries set to benefit from Creative United’s UK-wide profile, its expertise, resources and long-standing partnership with Novuna as the scheme’s credit provider. Alongside subsidised credit facilities, member galleries receive free marketing support, and a range of other benefits offered by partner organisations that can help them to develop, grow and diversify their customer base.
Arts Council of Wales share Creative United’s aims of reducing the financial barriers and perceptions of elitism that commonly exist within the art market, and are confident that this is the best option for art buyers in Wales, the gallery network, and the many hundreds of contemporary artists and craft makers whose work they champion and present for sale each year through their diverse exhibition programmes and events.