Art Bank

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The Art Bank is a division of the Canada Council for the Arts that rents works of art to public and private sector offices.

Established in the 1970s the Art Bank buys art from notable Canadian artists through a system of peer review juries. The Bank continues to expand its collection, buying 52 works for 160,000 dollars in 2002. The bank is completely self-funded, earning its money from renting out works in its collection. The vast majority of its art is rented by the Federal government, with less than ten percent being rented by the private sector. Works of art are rented out for two-year periods, and the price is generally 20% of the piece's value for the rental. The Art Bank is located in Ottawa, Ontario, but it ships its work across the country. Its collection has been appraised to be worth over 60 million dollars.