An interactive discussion to explore what a basic income would mean for Highland artists in Scotland and their creative practice

Sun 6 September 2026, 1pm – 3pm • Eden Court Theatre, SGL Board Room, Bishop’s Road, Inverness, IV3 5SA

Financial insecurity is increasingly a barrier between artists and their creative practice – but there is another way.

A universal basic income is the idea that everyone should have an unconditional, regular cash payment that covers their basic needs as a right. They are convening a group of artists, arts organisations and arts unions to discuss how a basic income for artists can be explored in Scotland.

Ireland recently piloted a targeted basic income for artists: 2000 artists received a weekly payment of €325 for 2.5 years from 2022 to 2025. The scheme was shown to return €1.39 for every €1 invested. The Irish Government has now made their Basic Income for Artists Scheme permanent.

Betsy King, who is part of the team trying to make the income happen, is hosting this event with the in-kind support from Eden Court to:

– Discuss what a basic income would mean for artists in Scotland and their creative practice.
– Bring together artists, arts organisations and arts unions to consider the challenges for artists in Scotland and how a basic income might impact them.
– Share some insight into universal basic income and the basic income for artists scheme in Ireland.
– Explore what next steps we might want to take to make the case for a basic income for artists in Scotland.

Register via https://tinyurl.com/4bdsky9s to join the conversation. There are 35 spaces.
Access facilities | Eden Court: https://eden-court.co.uk/your-visit/access-facilities.
If you can’t make this event sign up to the mailing list for future updates, events and resources via https://tinyurl.com/4wxru7rk (if you’re coming to this event you can sign up to the mailing list when registering).

For further information, please contact betsy67king@googlemail.com (Betsy King) or visit https://actionnetwork.org/events/basic-income-for-artists-in-scotland-highland-artists-discussion.