Most people are familiar with borrowing books from libraries or renting cars, carpet cleaners, or formal suits for special occasions. But have you ever thought about renting an original artwork? Imagine hanging a Sidney Nolan painting above your sofa, or displaying pieces by Emily Kam Kngwarray or Patricia Piccinini in your office. Perhaps you're interested in works by emerging video artists or photographers, or maybe a striking neon text-based installation catches your eye. You might even be drawn to something more politically charged, like a series of paintings created on discarded aerial maps that symbolically reclaims land from mining companies.

If any of these possibilities sound appealing, Australia's Artbank has exactly what you're looking for. This government-owned collection houses more than 11,000 works of art that are available for rental by both individuals and businesses. The rental fees are surprisingly affordable, starting at just $165 per year for smaller pieces and reaching a maximum of $11,000 for the most valuable works.

The story of Artbank begins in the mid-1970s, when the Whitlam government started exploring innovative ways to support contemporary Australian art. Brian Johns, a cultural critic and political journalist, spearheaded the project after studying Canada's Art Bank model. The concept was elegantly simple: acquire works of art, rent them out for fees, then reinvest those rental fees into new acquisitions and operational costs. The mission had two clear goals: first, to support living artists and galleries by purchasing their work, and second, to make art accessible to a much broader segment of the Australian public.

Although the project originated under Whitlam's administration, Artbank didn't officially launch until 1980 under the Fraser government. It was part of a campaign promise to bring Australian art out of traditional gallery spaces and into the wider community. The innovative model proved remarkably successful – within just 12 years, by 1992, Artbank had become financially self-sustaining and has remained largely so ever since.

Today, Artbank reinvests half a million dollars of its annual rental income into acquiring new works from artists across every Australian state and territory. According to current director Zoë Rodriguez, this represents the largest budget among Australian collecting institutions specifically dedicated to supporting emerging and living artists. Last year alone, approximately 50% of that acquisition budget was spent on works by First Nations artists.

This August marks a significant milestone for the institution as it celebrates its 45th anniversary with the launch of a comprehensive coffee table book and a companion exhibition in Melbourne. These publications will offer the public an unprecedented window into the works, operations, and rich history of this unique cultural institution. However, Rodriguez emphasizes that the best way to truly experience Artbank – a collection that belongs to all Australian people – is to visit either the Sydney or Melbourne facilities in person and immerse yourself among the artworks.

Both locations, designed by Aileen Sage Architects in Sydney and Edition Office in Melbourne respectively, function as innovative hybrid spaces that serve as both storage facilities and public galleries. The most striking architectural features are the seemingly endless rows of art-laden storage racks mounted on wheels, alongside towering shelving units filled with sculptures of every size and style. Public access to the collection can be easily arranged through phone calls or email, while rotating public exhibitions are regularly displayed in Artbank Sydney's street-facing window display and Melbourne's dedicated gallery space.

'Our job is to make accessing the art as easy as possible,' explains Rodriguez. She notes that visitors arrive with vastly different levels of art knowledge and specific needs. 'Some people arrive knowing exactly what they want, having already browsed through our digitized online collection,' she says. 'Others come in and say, "I know nothing about art" – part of our work is to demystify art and help them find exactly the right piece for their specific situation.'

The reasons people seek out Artbank's services are incredibly diverse. Some businesses want themed series of works for their offices that can be rotated annually to keep spaces fresh and engaging. Art collectors sometimes rent pieces to test potential future investments before making major purchases. Australian ambassadors select works to communicate Australian cultural values in overseas embassies around the world. Interior designers and architects choose sculptures and paintings to complete specific projects for their clients. And many individuals simply want something beautiful that will bring daily joy to their homes.

For high-end works in the collection – some of which are now worth millions of dollars – Artbank offers a rare opportunity for ordinary people to experience masterpieces up close. 'We're making them accessible to a lot of people who might not be able to find that work on the commercial art market because it might not be available for sale, but also who probably couldn't afford to purchase that work even if it were,' Rodriguez explains.

Regardless of the specific reason behind each visit, there's something genuinely magical about personally pulling out the storage racks of art yourself. The experience evokes the joyful sense of endless possibility you might feel in a well-stocked candy store. Works spanning decades sit side-by-side in fascinating and unexpected combinations, with pieces from different artistic mediums, styles, and genres creating weird and wonderful juxtapositions. The arrangement appears almost random, determined primarily by available space when pieces are returned from their travels rather than any curatorial logic.

Some of the most compelling stories emerge when viewing the collection alongside Artbank's knowledgeable consultants, who know the individual works and their extensive travel histories intimately. During a recent visit to Artbank's Waterloo premises, fascinating tales unfold about the collection's global reach. One of Ken Thaiday Sr's intricate shark headdresses spent months in Russia, sharing stories of Torres Strait Islands culture on an international stage. Meanwhile, Thom Roberts' 'Magic Robot Machine' – notable as Artbank's first Augmented Reality acquisition – was directly inspired by the artist's personal fascination with photocopiers and trains.

Hanging prominently on one storage rack is the imposing 'Swamp (No.4),' a nearly three-meter-tall painting created by Brent Harris in 1999. This substantial work spent years representing Australian culture at the country's embassy in Moscow before more recently hanging in the elegant foyer of Aurora Place, Sydney's prestigious Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper. 'Brent was traveling to Sydney a few years ago and spotted his own painting as he was walking past the building,' curator Oliver Watts recounts with evident delight. 'He hadn't seen it in decades. He immediately posted it on Instagram and reached out to let us know about the unexpected reunion.'

Many artists are particularly pleased to have their work collected by Artbank specifically because they know their pieces will be actively displayed and experienced rather than sitting unseen in storage, Rodriguez notes. This philosophy of keeping art 'out-and-about' comes with additional risks and logistical challenges, however. 'Because over 50% of our collection is currently in different environments around Australia and overseas at any given time, we have to be extremely careful about thoroughly inspecting works when they return to us,' explains senior registrar Rod Palmer.

In Artbank's specialized conservation area, the technical details of art preservation become fascinatingly complex. Staff members discuss the intricate processes of quarantine rooms, UV-protective perspex installations, and anoxic treatments that seal artworks in completely oxygen-free environments to eliminate silverfish, carpet beetles, and other potentially damaging pests.

During the facility tour, a large spider sculpture mounted on the conservation area wall draws attention. Rodriguez laughs when asked about it, explaining its 'interesting history with us.' The larger-than-life sculpture was created by Abdul-Rahman Abdullah in 2017 as part of his 'Among Monsters' series. 'People often choose it initially because it's really cool and striking,' Rodriguez explains, 'but it is invariably returned to us because somebody in the office or home becomes scared of spiders!' Fiona, the in-house art conservator who works directly under the sculpture every day, has affectionately nicknamed the piece 'Franklin.'

These many quirky, curious, and compelling stories are precisely what make Artbank such a particularly special and unique cultural institution. As Graeme Sturgeon, Artbank's founding director, once observed: 'It's probably more accurate to describe Artbank as a library of art, rather than a bank. We don't take the work and keep it hidden away in storage.' Like any well-functioning library, Artbank is filled with stories that can be taken home, discovered, and discussed by anyone. The institution successfully takes art down from its often intimidatingly high pedestal and shares it democratically with everyone, regardless of their economic status or art world connections.

The comprehensive book 'On Display: The Story of Australia's Most Visible Art Collection' will be published this August. A companion exhibition will run from August 8 to October 10 at Artbank Melbourne in Collingwood, offering visitors an in-depth look at this remarkable 45-year experiment in making art accessible to all Australians.