'I can concentrate full-time on my art': 14 months of the BIA scheme 

The innovative Basic Income for the Arts scheme offers artists a payment of €325 per week. Broadly welcomed in the sector when introduced in 2022, we look at how the pilot project has been doing 

The Basic Income for the Arts scheme guarantees a weekly payment for participants. Picture: iStock

Serge Vanden Berghe sits in his Cork city studio, surrounded by paints, brushes, many completed artworks and yet more half-finished. He opens his journal: in it, he records personal expenses, the hours he spends in his studio painting and sculpting, how he travels to work, even his well-being and state of mind.

“I feel myself, more than ever, a professional artist,” he says. “I produce more and the output is of a better quality, and the peace of mind has a lot to do with this.”