Springboard for the Arts is proud to announce that we will be participating in International Basic Income Week, September 16-22, 2024.
A self-organized participatory week in celebration and recognition of Basic Income (also called Guaranteed Income) International Basic Income Week invites communities to connect, learn, and share knowledge about basic income and what futures it makes possible.
As part of this week, Springboard will be hosting a variety of events and gatherings at our site in St. Paul and across Minnesota in partnership with our Artists Respond: People, Place, and Prosperity Cohort, community leaders, and neighborhood organizations.
Learn more about Basic Income-centered events happening across the globe at www.basicincomeweek.org.
All events are free and open to the public. RSVP using the button below to let us which events you will be attending!
Event Schedule:
- EXHALE: Opening Reception
- Tuesday, September 17, 6:00-8:00pm
- Springboard for the Arts, 262 University Ave W., St. Paul, MN 55103
- Curated by Emerging Curators Institute, join us at Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul for the opening reception of EXHALE, a new exhibit that showcases multimedia work from Minnesota artists about the futures that guaranteed income makes possible.
- Creative Economy Open House
- Wednesday, September 18, 4:00-6:00pm
- Springboard for the Arts, 201 West Lincoln Ave., Fergus Falls, MN 56537
- Celebrate Otter Tail County’s creative economy! Featuring an arts and crafts supply swap, wooden birdhouse painting, postcard writing, and creative family friendly activities with local artists Kandace Creel Falcón, Jess Torgerson, and Torri Hanna. Plus, cupcakes from Peney Cakes, fall beverages from the Foxtail Fern, and popcorn.
- The Soil is more Important than the Seeds: Narrative Strategies in Organizing Workshop
- Thursday, September 19, 5:00-7:00pm
- Springboard for the Arts, 262 University Ave W., St. Paul, MN 55103
- 2024 McKnight Distinguished Artist Ricardo Levins Morales will lead a narrative storytelling workshop for artists and organizers.
- Blackout x FAWK Present: A Laugh in the Bucket
- Friday, September 20, 7:00-9:00pm
- Black Youth Healing Arts Center, 643 Virginia St, St. Paul, MN 55103
- Join Blackout Improv Comedy and FAWK (Funny Asian Women Kollective) for a night of live unscripted theater at Black Youth Healing Arts Center!
- Family Day
- Saturday, September 21, 10:00am-2:00pm
- Springboard for the Arts, 262 University Ave W., St. Paul, MN 55103
- Bring your family and friends to Springboard in St. Paul and enjoy a variety of all-ages artist-led activities, including a goat petting station (real goats onsite!). Connect, recharge, and celebrate the joy that having a guaranteed income makes possible. Presented in partnership with the City of Saint Paul's Office of Financial Empowerment.

Explore all Basic Income Week Events and plan your schedule!
Learning Resources:

Learn more about our ongoing pilot and our work around Guaranteed (also called Basic) Income.

Read evaluations of 30+ guaranteed income pilots across the United States, including ours!

This Impact Report offers insight on the impact of Guaranteed Income Pilots for Artists and Creative Workers in Minnesota.

Learn more about how artists' are helping to shape the narrative of guaranteed income.
EXHALE: Reflections on Guaranteed Income








"Guaranteed Income is the G.O.A.T." by Kandace Creel Falcón
Interdisciplinary artist Kandace Creel Falcón created and installed a billboard located on County Highway 210 outside of Foxhome, MN. Originally an oil painting, the large image features three goats sitting on a bed of grass, a blue sky, red barn, and sun behind them. In the background above sits the phrase, “In rural, we tend to the herd.”
"For the Birds: a means to create, not waste" by Jess Torgerson and Erika Frikken
Cohort Member Jess Torgerson partnered with local artist Erika Frikken to create For the Birds: A Means to Create, Not Waste, a mixed media installation inspired by Guaranteed Income. The installation will be on view at the Kaddatz Galleries in Fergus Falls, MN through April 27, 2024.
"Bubble Up Economics" by Torri Hanna
Cohort member Torri Hanna created a fiber arts installation. About the piece, Torri writes, "The idea is that the small GI payments spread to low-income people will circulate throughout the community and benefit everyone. We've had trickle-down economics for decades now, and most of the benefits have gone to the megarich and large corporations. It's time for a change!"
"You can be hardworking and still need help." Postcard by Alicia Thao
Cohort member Alicia Thao created a digital illustration and postcard. About her work, Alicia writes, "Through my art, I depict individuals from diverse career paths, illustrating that one can have a job, be hardworking, and STILL need financial help."
"Prosperity Sounds" by the Kashimana
Prosperity Sounds EP is a trio of songs in response to the question what does prosperity sound like. Created by cohort member Kashimana, the EP illustrates the hope that guaranteed income as well as universal basic income can provide some solutions towards closing the wealth gap.
"Prosperity Dance" by Deja Joelle
"Everyone deserves to live and thrive." DejaJoelle's meditative work, "Prosperity Dance," is a collaborative performance that invites us to reflect on the essential nature of income, rest, togetherness and quality of life.
Bright Futures Audio Postcards are a visual and audio representation of Saint Paul’s People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot Program. The Bright Futures physical postcards have a QR code with a link to a produced audio story of one of the current participants in the People's Prosperity Pilot, describing why the program worked for their family.
Therapeutic. Mindfulness. Selfcare. Gratitude. Artist Briauna Williams created a multi-page coloring book, "Exhale" in response to the topic of Guaranteed Minimum Income.
More Artist Projects:

Read artist and pilot participant Yanelin Montalvo Valdez's report on Springboard's Guaranteed Income pilot.

Meet the artists making narrative change projects in response to Guaranteed Income.
more reading
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Artists Respond: People, Place, and ProsperityLearn more about the artist cohort creating work in response to Guaranteed Income.
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People's Prosperity Pilot - City of Saint PaulLearn more about the city of Saint Paul's Guaranteed Income Pilot.
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Mayors for a Guaranteed Income launchFounded by Mayor Michael D. Tubbs (Stockton, CA) in 2020, MGI is a network of mayors who have come together to advocate for a guaranteed income.