With the Art to Lend program, employees can rent original artwork from a 37-piece collection to decorate their offices.

Applications to rent artwork are open until Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rotunda Gallery.

“Because it’s original artwork, I think that there’s a certain classiness to it,” said Peter Olson, Art Museum associate director.

The artwork comes with an information sheet that includes the year it was made, the artist and a short biography, Olson said.

Currently 130 pieces of art from the museum’s 1,200-piece collection have already been rented and hung on campus. Employees can rent up to eight years and the Art to Lend program has a new rental collection each year, Olson said.

Rentals are funded through a nominal installation of $20 and annual rental fees pay for tending to the artwork, according to the Art Museum’s website.

Typically 15 to 24 departments rent each year. As of Tuesday, three people have applied. Olson said he expects that number to increase by Friday.

Olson implemented the eight-year rental policy when he began working at NIU 20 years ago because he noticed the artwork was being rented for up to 25 years and the colors began to fade. The eight-year rental ensures the artwork will remain preserved by rotating the art available to rent and controlling the amount of light exposure it receives.

“It’s an asset to have an art collection that’s here, and we try to utilize it in various ways and this is an important way to share that,” Olson said. “No one ever thinks ‘Man, I hope this sits in a drawer in DeKalb and no one sees it’.”

Go to bit.ly/29SBIB6 to see the Art Museum’s rental policy.