In this country, artists will receive 325 euros from the state every week

Ireland is working on a strategy that will provide artists with a weekly income, in the hope that this will reduce their need to do other work and increase their creativity.

The BIA (Basic Income for the Arts) initiative will provide 2000 artists residing in Ireland with a weekly income of €325. The plan is designed in three-year cycles.

Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan revealed that this is the first such strategy in the world.

"For the first time in the history of the state, we now have, on a permanent basis, a basic income structure that will truly revolutionize and, in many ways, set Ireland apart from other countries in terms of how we value culture and creativity," he continued.

The permanent strategy was preceded by a pilot program that ran from 2022 to 2025 to help artists during the closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A pilot program in Ireland randomly selected 2,000 artists from 8,000 applicants. The study found that the program reduced the likelihood of forced deprivation, as well as artists' levels of anxiety and dependence on additional income../Indeksonline/.