The pilot scheme will be open for applications from next Tuesday, April 12th.
The Basic Income for Arts Pilot Scheme was launched by the Government earlier today. 2,000 artists will be chosen at random and receive the weekly payment of €325 over a three year period.
The objective of the scheme is to address the earnings instability that can be associated working in the arts, and to research the impact on the creative practice of artists and creative arts workers of providing the security of a basic income.
The Government has described it as “a transformative initiative for the arts and creative practice”.
Who can apply?
Practicing artists, creative arts workers and recently trained applicants are all invited to apply for the scheme.
For the purposes of the BIA scheme, a Creative Arts Worker is defined on gov.ie as follows:
A creative arts worker is someone who has a creative practice and whose creative work makes a key contribution to the production, interpretation or exhibition of the arts. “Arts” means any creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form, and includes, in particular, visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture, and includes any medium when used for those purposes.
All applicants must be 18 years of age or older, in a position to evidence their creative practice or career in the arts, based in the Republic of Ireland, and tax compliant. The payment will be taxable, and the amount of tax paid will depend on individual levels of income.
The deadline for applications is 1pm on Thursday 12th May 2022.
Selection Process
According to gov.ie, selection will be a non-competitive process. Once an applicant satisfies the eligibility criteria they will be included in an anonymous random sampling process, from which the pilot participants will be selected.
Funding will allow for approximately 2,000 eligible applicants to participate in the pilot scheme.
A watershed moment
Minister for the Arts Catherine Martin described the scheme as a “watershed” moment for the arts, and a recognition of the value of creative and artistic work. She highlighted the fact that people “leaned into the work of artists during times of need”, especially during lockdown, and is determined the pandemic does not do permanent damage to the arts sector.
Header image via Shutterstock
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