Entitlements for Artists
Some artists are, in fact, "starving artists" and really do need essential entitlement programs SNAP (and WIC) and Medicaid.
For a long time, I've believed those who sign on for a lifetime in The Arts should be granted a version of UBI (Universal Basic Income) or guaranteed income, which would include an allotted amount of funds specifically for art supplies — for writers this could be for books. $100/month for books would be a big win for writers. Ideally, this would also include funding for Professional Development. For writers, this would include a certain amount of funds for workshops/classes or editing services. If we want to be extra idealistic, there would be an allowance for a co-working space or artist’s studio— a third space.
I also believe those who sign up, officially as an Artist or Writer or Musician or (insert Arts community position) on their taxes should receive free healthcare. I believe this is true for Freelancers, too.
I know the Libertarians are shaking their heads at me right now. I’ve had my fair share of these conversations, and I’ll have more of them.
Like being married, or being a homeowner, there are benefits to being traditionally employed that avoid the precarity of working independently. Traditional societal guidelines do not work for everyone just like we continue to learn there are many different ways children learn in the classroom. Turns out, not all brains are the same.
We need to stop creating systems that only make it easy for those that follow very narrow and well-trod paths. These systems of power almost always exclusively afford clear and easy to navigate paths (read: lives) to those in positions of privilege.
Anyone who is in the minority for any reason is made to struggle in our society. This includes but is not limited to zip code destiny, class, race, gender, identity, [dis]ability, appearance, how we carry ourselves in our bodies and think as individuals and move through the world. And the list goes on.
It’s astonishing, in part, because many of us prize American Individualism so much— when, by design, these structures have been developed for a very specific few. We tend to operate on narrow definitions with limited room for ambiguity. U.S. systems have worked well for the few who can climb the upward mobility ladder while generation after generation of other folks can’t get a leg up.
Will we ever manage to level the playing field?
What do you think about entitlements for artists?
I do agree. Now as a writer and previously as an actor. I remember back then in the 90s, as an actor, you had to get headshots done by a professional photographer. That was $500. Then you had to get them touched up. That was about $250. Then you had to get them printed in card form as thank you notes for auditions and as headshots for agents and managers. That was $300. If you finally got into the Screen Actors Guild, you had to pay $1500 to get in. Where were you supposed to get all of this to set up to get out there to become an actor when all the money you made at the restaurant or wherever you worked went to food and rent? I ended up pawning a ring my grandmother had left me to pay for all of those things. I figured she would have wanted me to to follow my dream but it broke my heart.
I’m all for entitlements for artists and a more active support of artists in our society generally. Nordic countries are much more intent on this than we are. They incorporate support for art and artists into many aspects of their budgetary planning from healthcare, unemployment services, and educational support, even to having a principle in which all public construction budgets have a portion allocated to incorporate art into public areas. They see art as a public good, not merely as the byproduct of the tortured, isolated genius. I can say, however, for myself, that I’ve been fortunate as a poet in that I’ve been able to work successfully in the corporate world as an administrative assistant my whole life. That’s provided a steady income and healthcare. Of course, not everyone can do that, as you point out.