How can we democratise art?

This is a post from the weareoca.com archive. Information contained within it may now be out of date.
 
A recent BBC article: Isn’t it time to democratise art? grabbed my attention. Tom Shakespeare proposes that we, the public, should be allowed to borrow works of art from our national collections in a recent article in the BBC online magazine.  This instantly reminded me of a time, in Sheffield, where I live, that one could browse the city’s art collection and borrow framed pictures and sculptures for a three month period. You could extend the loan if you wanted to.  The scheme was popular, and I found it enormously valuable in terms of getting me think about my likes and dislikes in art.  There is something very powerful about having original works of art on your wall, rather than prints.  Their presence is more dominant, both physically and psychologically. Alas, the scheme hit the dust when Sheffield was in financial crisis in the 1990s. Apparently there is such a scheme still running in Leeds.
Shakespeare points out that there are 212,000 oil paintings in the UK national collection, 80% of which are not currently on show.  Think of how many more if you include regional collections.   Of course, it might be daft to allow really valuable paintings out on loan, but there are so many lesser known artists’ works held in our national collections I really think that these could and should be shared at close quarters, on loan. Of course the possession of original art has all sorts of overtones, and most of us are happy enough with prints.  I like supporting local artists by buying original work, and though my budget is modest, I do now have quite a lot of original work on my walls at home.  These pictures make a difference to my well being; they add quality to my life.  I am convinced a picture loan scheme would help to spread the case for original work in peoples’ homes, are you?
(Image by Stephen Court)