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Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Ireland’s basic income scheme for artists points at how governments could help sectors in crisis
theconversation.com: The Irish government has announced that a pilot scheme providing artists and creatives with a weekly stipend of €325 (£283) will be made permanent. The scheme, which was first introduced in 2022, was launched in an attempt to mitigate the growing financial instability many in the creative industries face.
This is really interesting to me. I would love to understand the logistics behind it and the process of getting there. It sounds incredible to someone that is an artist but I would imagine those that are not artists maybe do not feel the same way. I have spent time thinking about the state of the arts and what we need to do to “save” it. I had never considered something like this but it makes a lot of sense. If you need more art you gotta help the artist. And this is pretty dang appealing. I know the money is not a lot but it would change things for people. I do not know enough about the government in Ireland but I am curious about their budget and where this money is coming from. Is it excessive? Is it being pulled from somewhere else? I wish this talked more about that because I know there is probably a lot behind it.
This is the sort of thing that we should be doing in the face of AI overtaking our society and workplaces. I think what Ireland’s program is doing to support the artists is nothing short of revolutionary. The fact that the public is on board with the program is the most surprising thing, as trying something like that in the US would only result in widespread “outrage” and grinding of teeth from the devil’s advocates and haters of art and joy that so conspicuously take residence in the United States. But the numbers on display are great to see. The state of every 1 pound invested return nearly a pound and a half in benefits is awesome and something I think we all know is true deep down. Art unshackled to capitalism is something we haven’t really gotten a chance to see flourish in recent history and I wonder what would be written, sung, and created if more art could be made without the burden of financial constraints on artists. I think Ireland has made an important first step towards this reality and it’s ridiculous that no one else has done anything remotely similar yet. Here’s hoping.
I itch to graduate and move to Ireland, I don’t care if it makes me a basic white girl, I feel like the Irish always have it right (and up the RA!) The fact that they did a test program, and instead of treating it like a study, they fully and permanently implemented it? U.S., PLEASE take notes. Despite the Van Gogh myth, artists work and make much better work when they’re not happy or worried about making rent. It also opens the door for more experimental art as the artist can factor in less about general appeal and marketability and adhere more the their personal vision and styles that may not be as profitable compared to the safe mass appealing options. I really hope this gets implemented smoothly and we see a wave of Indie Irish art in the coming years. I need to look into how to obtain citizenship or set my hinge location to Ireland at this point.
I had no idea that this was something governments could even attempt to implement and I believe it is an incredible advancement for Ireland in securing the prosperity of artists through fiscal alleviation! Two of the biggest hurdles aspiring artists face are figuring out how to even start a career within the arts and finding some financial security along with it. This officially proposed basic income scheme doesn’t get rid of those challenges for Irish artists, however it has so much potential to significantly impact their burdens. I found it shocking, but not surprising at the same time, that this article explained how most basic income schemes that have been attempted around the world haven’t lasted past their pilot stage. I sincerely hope that this initiative will be successful in the goals it aims to achieve and lasts a longer period of time, allowing the rest of the world to see by example how implementations such as this can affect the world of art.
4 comments:
This is really interesting to me. I would love to understand the logistics behind it and the process of getting there. It sounds incredible to someone that is an artist but I would imagine those that are not artists maybe do not feel the same way. I have spent time thinking about the state of the arts and what we need to do to “save” it. I had never considered something like this but it makes a lot of sense. If you need more art you gotta help the artist. And this is pretty dang appealing. I know the money is not a lot but it would change things for people. I do not know enough about the government in Ireland but I am curious about their budget and where this money is coming from. Is it excessive? Is it being pulled from somewhere else? I wish this talked more about that because I know there is probably a lot behind it.
This is the sort of thing that we should be doing in the face of AI overtaking our society and workplaces. I think what Ireland’s program is doing to support the artists is nothing short of revolutionary. The fact that the public is on board with the program is the most surprising thing, as trying something like that in the US would only result in widespread “outrage” and grinding of teeth from the devil’s advocates and haters of art and joy that so conspicuously take residence in the United States. But the numbers on display are great to see. The state of every 1 pound invested return nearly a pound and a half in benefits is awesome and something I think we all know is true deep down. Art unshackled to capitalism is something we haven’t really gotten a chance to see flourish in recent history and I wonder what would be written, sung, and created if more art could be made without the burden of financial constraints on artists. I think Ireland has made an important first step towards this reality and it’s ridiculous that no one else has done anything remotely similar yet. Here’s hoping.
I itch to graduate and move to Ireland, I don’t care if it makes me a basic white girl, I feel like the Irish always have it right (and up the RA!) The fact that they did a test program, and instead of treating it like a study, they fully and permanently implemented it? U.S., PLEASE take notes. Despite the Van Gogh myth, artists work and make much better work when they’re not happy or worried about making rent. It also opens the door for more experimental art as the artist can factor in less about general appeal and marketability and adhere more the their personal vision and styles that may not be as profitable compared to the safe mass appealing options. I really hope this gets implemented smoothly and we see a wave of Indie Irish art in the coming years. I need to look into how to obtain citizenship or set my hinge location to Ireland at this point.
I had no idea that this was something governments could even attempt to implement and I believe it is an incredible advancement for Ireland in securing the prosperity of artists through fiscal alleviation! Two of the biggest hurdles aspiring artists face are figuring out how to even start a career within the arts and finding some financial security along with it. This officially proposed basic income scheme doesn’t get rid of those challenges for Irish artists, however it has so much potential to significantly impact their burdens. I found it shocking, but not surprising at the same time, that this article explained how most basic income schemes that have been attempted around the world haven’t lasted past their pilot stage. I sincerely hope that this initiative will be successful in the goals it aims to achieve and lasts a longer period of time, allowing the rest of the world to see by example how implementations such as this can affect the world of art.
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