The Journal – Ireland
IN THE COMING months, the Irish government’s pioneering three-year pilot scheme of Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) will come to an end, with a decision on its future hanging in the balance ahead of the upcoming budget.
The initiative was conceived in the wake of the pandemic, when the precarious status of live events and rapid disintegration of traditional sources of artistic income led to a massive fall-off in the number of people working within the sector – even at a time when the necessity of the arts for general societal wellbeing was most palpably in focus.
Artistic practice is profoundly impacted by the unrestricted and avaricious amassing of wealth and power in the tech industry.
Streaming platforms have obliterated musicians’ income; artificial intelligence is replicating and replacing the work of filmmakers and animators; and some of the most intricate and beautiful modes of human expression are being forced into obsolescence by the demand for more immediate, platform-friendly “content”.
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