What Canada Can Learn from Ireland’s “Basic Income for the Arts” Report and Why It Matters for ARTiTENT 🇨🇦

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In 2025, Alma Economics released a major evaluation of Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot — one of the most ambitious artist-support programs in the world. The results were striking: over €100 million in social and economic benefits, improved psychological wellbeing, and increased artistic output across the country.

While this is an Irish initiative, the findings speak directly to the realities of artists everywhere — including here in Canada. As ARTiTENT grows its mission to connect, support, and empower both emerging and professional artists, this report provides a powerful evidence base for why building stronger creative support systems matters.

Why This Matters for Artists in Canada

Canada, like Ireland, has thousands of artists who juggle multiple jobs, unpredictable income, and limited access to professional feedback. The Alma Economics report confirms something that artists often experience but rarely see validated with data:

👉 When artists receive stable support, they thrive and communities thrive with them.

The report showed:

• For every €1 invested, society received €1.39 in return.

• Artists increased their creative income and reduced non-arts “survival work.”

• Mental-health and wellbeing improvements accounted for the largest share of benefits.

• Artistic output, collaboration, and public engagement all increased.

This mirrors challenges and opportunities in Canada, where artists also contribute immense cultural value — yet often face economic precarity that limits creative growth.

How These Insights Connect to ARTiTENT’s Mission

ARTiTENT is all about building sustainability and support in the artist community. The findings from the BIA program reinforce the importance of what ARTiTENT is trying to create:

1. Financial and structural support directly improve artistic output

Even though Canada does not yet have a national basic income program for artists, the BIA evidence suggests that any structured support — mentorship, critique, guidance, or community — helps artists reallocate time toward their creative practice.

ARTiTENT is positioned to offer exactly that kind of structured professional ecosystem.

2. Professional feedback can replace the gaps where financial support is missing

When income is unpredictable, artists often lack access to mentorship or critique opportunities. ARTiTENT’s upcoming critique feature bridges this gap by making professional feedback:

• accessible

• affordable

• flexible

• directly connected to growth

This is a form of support that produces similar benefits to those observed in the BIA report: more focus, more confidence, and a stronger connection to the arts community.

3. Stable support increases wellbeing and wellbeing increases creativity

Mental health was one of the biggest sources of benefit in the BIA pilot. Canadian artists face similar pressures: financial instability, isolation, and lack of clear pathways into the professional art world.

By creating a supportive, interconnected community, ARTiTENT naturally contributes to wellbeing — which in turn drives better creative output.

4. Communities benefit when artists succeed

More creative time means:

• more exhibitions

• more public art

• more workshops

• more cultural engagement

This is exactly what ARTiTENT aims to cultivate across Ontario and, eventually, across Canada — a richer cultural environment led by artists who feel supported, confident, and connected.

What Canada Can Do Moving Forward (and How ARTiTENT Fits In)

Inspired by Ireland’s model, Canada could explore similar ideas on a local or national scale. In the meantime, ARTiTENT can play a practical and immediate role by offering:

✔ Micro-support through accessible professional critique

Even small amounts of guidance or mentorship can significantly improve artistic direction and resilience.

✔ Community building and collaboration opportunities

Networks reduce the isolation that many Canadian artists face.

✔ A platform that showcases artists and increases their visibility

Visibility is value — and it can lead to sales, commissions, exhibitions, and partnerships.

✔ Evidence-based advocacy for artist support

With data from reports like BIA, ARTiTENT can help raise awareness of the economic and social value that artists bring to society.

Conclusion — A Path Forward for Canadian Artists

The Alma Economics report confirms what ARTiTENT already believes:Supporting artists is not a cost — it is an investment.

As we work to build ARTiTENT into a home for meaningful creative growth, these findings guide and reinforce our next steps:

• building structured spaces for artist critique

• supporting both emerging and professional artists

• strengthening community and collaboration

• advocating for better support systems in Canada

Canada’s cultural future depends on artists — and artists depend on the systems and communities that lift them.

ARTiTENT is here to help build that future.