1. Art cannot depend on luck
Chronic precarity forces people to quit or self-censor. A stable income buys creative time.
Arts Basic Income · RBA-E
Arts BasicIncome for Spain
A public, structural tool to guarantee creative time and reduce structural precarity in the cultural sector.
Fact of the Day
61 % of European creators struggle to pay rent or studio costs.
Source: Culture Action Europe / European Parliament (2025)
Podcast · Episode 1
Arts Basic Income — evidence from Ireland, CRNY, Germany.
“Art cannot flourish where life is mere survival.”
Manifesto2025-10-21 · #programme #manifesto
Arts Basic Income in Spain (RBA-E): Freedom, Dignity and Cultural Justice
Political and cultural framework to guarantee creative time and material rights in the arts sector. Foundational document of the RBA-E programme.
Three reasons for an Arts Basic Income
2. Art produces public value
Cohesion, identity, wellbeing: positive externalities the market does not pay without public intervention.
3. Culture is a right
Protecting creation strengthens democracy and diversity; ABI protects processes, not just outputs.
The Problem
Precarity as a Structural Norm
The economic situation of artists in Spain reveals an unsustainable reality that justifies intervention. Precarity is not an exception; it is the rule for the majority.
46.9%
earns < €8,000/year
Less than half the annual minimum wage.
>60%
below minimum wage
Systemic instability at the base of the field.
52%
reports difficulties
Over half cannot live decently from their work.
Proposal for Spain
A viable, integrated Arts Basic Income
The missing income pillar in the Artist Statute. A pilot grounded in evidence for local adaptation.
3 years
Pilot length (RCT)
Robust data in Spanish context.
€1,200
Monthly amount
Aligned with subsistence threshold.
< 1.1× MW
Eligibility (need)
Focuses impact and cost.
Active practice
Unconditional spending; tied to practice.
RBA + RETA integration
The operational key: a stable income makes social security contributions sustainable and improves access to protection.
See diagram →Latest in the Archive
View all →International Evidence — overview & impact
2025-11-06
What pilots show: creative time, wellbeing, reinvestment, community.
Why a Basic Income for the Arts and not a Universal Basic Income?
2025-11-01
The Basic Income for the Arts does not fragment the universal sense of Basic Income; it anticipates it—acting as a political laboratory and a test field for structural redistribution of wealth.
Arts Basic Income in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
2025-11-01
The Arts Basic Income is not a welfare measure but an infrastructure of freedom and resistance against automation and the structural precarity of cultural labour.