Living Annex — Initiatives, Evidence and Frameworks Supporting an Arts Basic Income

This mapping brings together guaranteed income pilots for artists, related schemes, and long-term frameworks (social insurance and multiannual grants) that all point in the same direction: process stability, less bureaucracy, and improved wellbeing and artistic practice. To be kept updated.

1. Comparable Pilots and Programs

Ireland — Basic Income for the Arts (BIA)

• Payment: €325/week, 3 years (2022–2025/26); selection by lottery among eligible applicants; independent evaluation.
• Results: +11 h/week of creative practice; significant improvements in anxiety/wellbeing; aggregate social benefit > €100M, with a public return exceeding the net cost (impact on mental health and local economy).¹²
• The Irish government has announced that, after more than three years of positive results, it will make the Basic Income for the Arts program permanent starting in 2026.
• The initial rollout will fund 2,000 recipients, with the possibility of expansion if additional funds become available.
• Approved artists will receive €325 per week, and applications are expected to open sometime in 2026.
• Eligibility criteria have not yet been published.
• The pilot phase (2022–2025/26) included disciplines such as visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus, and architecture.
• Launched after the COVID-19 pandemic to support artistic work, the pilot generated over €100 million in socio-economic benefits, demonstrating a clear public return on investment.
• The BIA is now considered a structural cultural policy model for long-term creative sustainability.³

United States — Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY)

• Payment: $1,000/month, 18 months, 2,400 artists across New York State; evaluation by an interdisciplinary academic team.
• Results: greater financial stability, reduced food insecurity, sustained practice; positive effects on health and artistic continuity.⁴⁵

San Francisco — Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists (YBCA / SF-GIPA)

• Payment: $1,000/month; 130 artists.
• Focus: unconditional payments to sustain artistic practice; documented learnings and reduced administrative burden compared to traditional grants.⁶⁷

Minnesota — Springboard for the Arts

• Payment: $500/month, multi-year horizon; self-evaluated with impact reports (stability, care networks, continuity).⁸⁹

Conclusion: Regular, non-competitive programs that fund time and process, reduce bureaucracy, and improve health and professional continuity.¹⁰

2. Continuity Frameworks (Social Insurance and Multiannual Grants)

France — Intermittents du spectacle
A specific unemployment insurance regime that recognizes intermittence as a structural feature of the cultural sector and smooths income between contracts, funded by public and employer contributions.¹¹¹²

Germany — Künstlersozialkasse (KSK)
System through which self-employed artists and writers access healthcare and pension with employee-level contributions: the fund covers around half of the social contributions (co-financed by the State and companies using artistic works).¹³¹⁴

**Finland — Taike (Arts Promotion Centre)
Grants of 6 months, 1, 3, and 5 years (~€2,200/month in 2025) oriented toward sustained work, centered on autonomy and low procedural load.¹⁵¹⁶

Denmark — Statens Kunstfond
Annual work grants and three-year stipends that sustain long-term careers with professional oversight.¹⁷¹⁸

Norway — Statens stipender
A long tradition of multiannual stipends and regular artist support—historical foundation of the Scandinavian model.¹⁹

While not strict “Arts Basic Incomes”, these mechanisms internalize intermittence (France), socialize contributions (Germany), and ensure multiannual horizons (Finland, Denmark, Norway). The ABI model synthesizes their logic: stability + autonomy + lower administrative friction.

3. Evidence and Observed Benefits

• More hours for creative practice and research: +11 h/week practice; +2.9 h/week research.
• Improved mental health: psychological wellbeing as the main component of social benefit (BIA, CRNY).
• Debureaucratization: monthly payments without ex-post justification free administrative time (YBCA, Springboard).
• Talent retention: reduced professional dropout rates and greater capacity to say NO to exploitative conditions.

4. Networks, Campaigns and Ecosystem

• UBIE (Unconditional Basic Income Europe): network active in 25 countries, political driver of guaranteed income movements.²⁰
• Culture Action Europe (CAE): follow-up of the 2023 European Parliament Resolution on artists’ working conditions.²¹²²
• Institute of Radical Imagination (IRI): think-action space for guaranteed income in the arts, author of the Art for UBI Manifesto.²³
• National Campaign for the Arts (Ireland): key advocate for making the BIA permanent.²⁴

Recommended interlocutors: Culture (sectoral policies), Labour/Social Security (contributions and protection), and Health/Welfare (public savings and social ROI).

5. Spanish Framework: Anchors and Extension Toward the RBA-E

Artist Statute (Estatuto del Artista) (2023–2025):

• Special unemployment benefit for artists (80% IPREM, 4 months).²⁵²⁶
• Compatibility between pension and artistic activity, reduced IRPF, improved contracts.²⁷²⁸

Self-employed contributions (RETA):
UPTA 2026–2031 proposals to protect low-income brackets and link basic income with sustainable contributions.²⁹³⁰

The RBA-E would complement the Statute by adding the income floor pillar, making contributions viable and stabilizing artistic processes.
Outcome: less informal economy, more social protection, real professionalization.

6. Recommendations for a Spanish Pilot (RBA-E)

1. Simple and clear eligibility (demonstrable activity + income thresholds) and random selection among eligible participants.
2. Adequate monthly payment (poverty line / partial minimum wage), compatible with reduced social security contributions and limited other income.
3. Independent evaluation (RCT or quasi-experimental design) with indicators: hours, mental health, continuity, local investment, fiscal return.
4. Interoperability with Social Security and Tax Agency to reduce bureaucracy (automatic registration, minimal reporting).
5. Participatory governance (technical tables with the sector) and inter-ministerial coordination (Culture–Labour–Health).
6. Transition clause toward permanent scheme if impact thresholds are achieved (social ROI, wellbeing, talent retention).

Footnotes

Selected Bibliography (Chicago)

• Government of Ireland — Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media. Basic Income for the Arts: Pilot Research Scheme / Press & Evaluation (2024–2025).
• Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY). Guaranteed Income for Artists: Impact & Evaluation (2025).
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). San Francisco Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists (2021–2024).
• Springboard for the Arts. Guaranteed Income — Program & Impact Reports (2023–2025).
• Künstlersozialkasse (Germany). Social Insurance for Artists — EN Factsheets (2025).
• Taike (Finland). Artist Grants — Durations & Amounts (2023–2025).
• Statens Kunstfond (Denmark). Work Grants (EN Resources).
• Culture Action Europe / European Parliament. Working Conditions & 2023 Resolution.
• UBIE (Unconditional Basic Income Europe). Network & Mission Statements (2025).
• Spanish Ministry of Culture / BOE / SEPE. Artist Statute — Benefits and Compatibility (2023–2025).

Last updated: October 2025.
This mapping is part of the Arts Basic Income (RBA-E) project and is updated periodically with new programs and international frameworks.