As a time-bound entity, CRNY believed it was critical to contextualize our program design and learnings with a community of peers who led and continue to lead similar programs around the world. We were not the first to provide unrestricted cash to artists, and we certainly will not be the last. 

Between August and November 2023, we convened a working group to collectively reflect on challenges, opportunities, and best practices in our programs and to align around strategic opportunities for moving forward. In the first conversation, program administrators reflected on their experiences running unrestricted cash programs and shared the lessons they have learned that could inform future efforts. The second conversation situated artist-related guaranteed income work in the context of the larger guaranteed income movement; we considered strategic opportunities for artists to help advance the movement, and how to further integrate guaranteed income values into the arts sector. The second conversation included members of the larger guaranteed income field who have expressed interest in artists as collaborators and/or an important constituency. 

The resulting report synthesizes and builds on the group’s discussions, identifying five areas where strategically aligned action between the guaranteed income and arts sectors can help advance the guaranteed income movement’s goals. Some of these calls to action were set in motion by CRNY and its partners, members of the working group, or others in the field, while others remain in early stages of conceptualization. This document is an invitation for artist advocates and guaranteed income movement leaders to see the possibilities for ongoing collaboration–there is great potential and much to be done.