The Telegraph catches up with an innovative UK scheme to make art more accessible:

Set up in 2004 by the Arts Council, Own Art enables people to take home a piece of contemporary art straight way but then pay for it in 10 monthly interest-free instalments, borrowing anything up to £2,000. So far the scheme has made over 14,500 loans to purchase art valued in excess of £11.6 million. “It’s a simple idea that works for artists, buyers and galleries,” says Mary-Alice Stack, development manager for Own Art. “From farmers to policemen, students to pensioners, we’re making it possible for everyone to buy original art for their homes.”

The stories the paper uncover are at once ordinary and unique. Each one is worth reading for a reminder of the way art affects so many people in so many different ways. Take, for example, David Pike, 53-year-old pig farmer:

“I’ve bought about ten pieces of art over the last ten years, six or seven through the scheme. […] The two in the caravan are by Houson and Paul Denham. […] My favourite piece is a Houson called Severus. It is a strong, strong painting that has a real resonance with me as it depicts a working man who is deep in thought. It shows how working men can still be intellectual and capable of deep thought, which I like because although I do manual labour, I’m an intellectual.”

Buying Art in Interest-Free Instalments (Telegraph)