“The idea came about because we love art, and started to think about how we could assist galleries to sell their artists work, and in turn support their practices” says Sonja. “Through conversations with fellow collectors and the galleries, and with our own experience in finance, we developed My ART; a service we thought could help.”
My ART reduces the risks of long term lay-buys for galleries and artists, and emboldens people to buy the work they really want. “All kinds of people are using My ART, from first time buyers to established collectors, who often use it to give them more time to pay off a large purchase. We even had one young couple use My ART for their wedding present; their guests contributed to the deposit, and they paid the rest in manageable sums.”
The profits from My ART are returned to the community via charitable donations to art organisations around New Zealand Aotearoa. “It’s also a creative approach to patronage” says Glenn, “the more loans we approve, the more money we can give back.”
Read about some of My ART’s recent partnerships here.
My ART was launched in 2016 and to date has been used by over 700 people for the purchase of contemporary art and craft.
The concept behind My ART is well-established in the United Kingdom and Australia. A survey after 10 years of Own Art in the UK (2014) found:
buyers of art
expensive work than they would otherwise buy
more than once
taking out another loan