The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) scheme will award 2,000 professional artists in Ireland with a weekly payment of €325 for a period of 3 years, starting in late 2026. The scheme opens for applications on April 15th at 1pm, and closes on May 12th at 5pm.
We hosted 2 info clinic sessions to go through the Guidelines for Applications, the eligibility criteria, and what you need to know for getting your BIA application ready. We also covered the process for getting a Certificate of Professional Membership, issued by ISACS, which serves as one of three required proofs for BIA application eligibility.
The first Zoom session ran on Wednesday April 8th, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The second Zoom session ran on Wednesday April 22nd, from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. The two sessions were largely the same. However, by the time of the second session, Brendan (the speaker), had gone through the BIA application process and therefore was able to offer first-hand experience.