(Toronto) When the COVID-19 pandemic sent millions of office workers home, it didn’t take long for some of them to decide their living room or spare bedroom needed some help. be renovated.
Many turned to a touch of paint or eventually bought a desk, but Tammy Yiu Coyne has also seen people turn to new works to hang on their walls.
The co-founder and CEO of Toronto-based Partial had exactly what they needed: an art rental service that specializes in works that aren’t valued at millions of dollars.
His business – like many others aimed at allowing people to “try out” works before buying them – has experienced a pandemic boom that has boosted her revenues and taught a whole new audience that renting works from. art was not just for the rich.
“Our favorite stories are from people who have never bought art before, who bought their first work on Partial and are now buying two or three works,” explained Mme Yiu Coyne.
Partial, which launched in 2016 with around 20 works and has counted for several thousand, focuses on Canadian art that costs less than $ 5,000. It offers painting, sculpture and photography rentals for three months at amounts that start at $ 25 and climb to $ 1,300.
Pieces can be purchased directly at any time, and for a work that has already been rented, fees already paid are subtracted from the purchase price.
So many people were drawn to these offers during the pandemic that Mme Yiu Coyne said the number of rentals increased by 125% between 2019 and 2020. It is now on track to grow another 43% for this year. About three-quarters of the people who rent a work buy it afterwards.
Equally busy has been Art Rentals and Sales, a non-profit program run by the Vancouver Art Gallery that focuses on artists from British Columbia.
Zoe Mackoff de Miranda, the manager of the program, noticed that companies that rented artwork return them during the pandemic, but that a wave of people who typically spend money on travel or other activities had turned to his program for the first time.
Several told him that they wanted to rent a work to enhance their decor during the videoconferences. She suspects that some have also been inspired by the recent movement to encourage people to support local businesses and she hopes that momentum will continue and remove some of the fear factor associated with buying art.
“Sometimes people are really intimidated going to bigger galleries because they feel like they must know something about art or that they will be looked down upon if they don’t know certain artists or genres. , but renting takes a lot of that out, ”she noted.
Its program focuses on works that can cost up to $ 15,000, but rent from $ 12 to $ 250 per month and can continue for as long as desired. If a landlord decides to buy a work, the program reduces the price by an amount equal to the cost of the first three months of the rental.
Do not fear daring
For those considering their first rental, Mme Mackoff de Miranda recommends focusing on works or styles that you like and not worrying about commitments.
“Even though it’s totally different from what you might be interested in, you can try it,” she said. Maybe you will fall in love with it even more or you will be completely fed up with it after a month and you can bring it back. ”
Don’t be afraid to be daring, added Mme Yiu Coyne.
“A lot of new buyers think they’re going to start with something small and hang this little piece over their sofa, but they really should aim for a bigger one,” she said.
For those who don’t know where to start, she recommends Partial’s “sommelier” course. A consultation is free and provides a professional opinion on which works would best suit and accent any space. Customers also have access to augmented reality software allowing them to virtually place an artwork in their home.
Once a work is chosen, some programs like Mme Mackoff de Miranda offer delivery and installation services – a good choice for those who are concerned about art being damaged in transit.
Concerned tenants can also check if their home insurance will cover any damage to the artwork once it’s installed, but Mr.me Mackoff from Miranda notes that accidents don’t happen often.
“It’s amazing how rare it is for damage to occur,” she said. People are generally very, very careful. ”
Mme Yiu Coyne agrees. “In all our years of existence, we have only had one case where something has happened,” she said.
“No one intentionally does everything in their power to damage art. ”