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Springboard for the Arts’ ongoing Guaranteed Minimum Income for Artists pilot supports 75 artists, culture bearers, and creative workers in the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods of Saint Paul and in Otter Tail County, MN with $500/month for 18 months in 2023-24.

Originally launched in 2021 as a “sidecar” to the City of St. Paul’s People's Prosperity Pilot, the goal of Springboard’s pilot is to explore the impact of guaranteed income on artists, culture bearers and creative workers at a neighborhood level and to provide a national model for the inclusion of artists in policies that address economic inequity.

Based on the success and early research findings of the first pilot, Springboard is expanding and deepening the Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot to include more artists in Rondo and Frogtown and to add Otter Tail County, which is the nation’s first pilot focused on artists in rural places. Springboard will also support rural and urban artists in Minnesota to create creative projects that tell the story of the need for and the impact of guaranteed income.

Exhale Illustration by Briauna Williams
Laura Zabel quote on Guaranteed Minimum Income
Greg Wagner, West Central Initiative quote on Guaranteed Minimum Income
GMI Participant Quote
The Art of Economic Justice

Read the 2021-23 Impact Report on Guaranteed Minimum Income Pilots for Artists and Creative Workers in Minnesota.

Laura Zabel, Quote
Greg Wagner, Quote
GMI Pilot Participant Quote
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Springboard Staff

Economic Opportunity Director

Community Development Director

Community Organizer

Read the 2023 Press Release!

An overview of Phase 2's expansion of Springboard's Guaranteed Minimum Income pilot for artists and narrative change work in Saint Paul and Otter Tail County, Minnesota.

Read the Press Release

Artists Respond: People, Place, Prosperity

During Phase I of the artist-focused pilot, the City of Saint Paul and Springboard partnered on an ongoing narrative change project: Artists Respond: People, Place, and Prosperity. This growing cohort of artists have created public projects that demonstrate the root causes that lead to the need for guaranteed income, and the impact of guaranteed income on the families and communities that are supported by it.

Culminating projects have ranged from podcasts and coloring books (available in print and PDF), to audio postcards, a stained glass installation, and a collaborative performance/dance meditation made available on YouTube. These projects have been widely disseminated locally and nationally. Click on the slider below to view the current projects.

Artists Respond: People, Place, and Prosperity is a project of the City of Saint Paul and Springboard for the Arts, supported by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

Rural Regenerator gathering, a group of people in chairs with a person at a white board
Altitude, glass sculpture by the Milligan Studio
Deja Joelle headshot
Deja Joelle headshot
Exhale illustration by Briauna Williams
Kashimana

Prosperity Sounds EP is a trio of songs in response to the question what does prosperity sound like. It is a response to what it is like living in capitalistic society during a pandemic. It is a hope that guaranteed income as well as universal basic income can provide some solutions towards closing the wealth gap. It is cry for equity and something more than the bare minimum.

Milligan Studio

Altitude is a joyous celebrations in glass, metal, and sound, consisting of kiln-formed glass panels inspired by the dreams of laughing children and a tight-top walker’s parasol. In 2021, the glass sculpture was installed at the YMCA in Saint Paul, MN.

Deja Joelle

"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.

Katey Decelle

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.

Briuana Williams

Therapeutic. Mindfulness. Selfcare. Gratitude. Artist Briauna Williams created a multi-page coloring book, "Exhale" in response to the topic of Guaranteed Minimum Income.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Guaranteed Income in the News

March 2, 2023 - Kresge Foundation launch
"Springboard for the Arts explores the need for and impact of guaranteed income on artists"
February 23, 2023 - Axios Twin Cities launch
"75 Minnesota artists to receive $500 guaranteed monthly income payments"
February 22, 2023 - Fergus Falls Daily Journal launch
"A New Incentive: Pilot Program to Lend a Helping Hand to Area Artists"
November 8, 2022 - Fractured Atlas launch
"Seeding Collaborations: Interview with Springboard for the Arts."
July 5, 2022 - Marketplace launch
"Programs pilot guaranteed income for artists."
November 18, 2021 - Fox 17 launch
"New pilot program offers guaranteed income, specifically geared toward artists."

September 28, 2021 - Next City launch
"Guaranteed Income For Artists Being Tested in Two Cities."
April 7, 2021 - Mpls St. Paul Mag launch
"Springboard for the Arts Launches Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists."
April 6, 2021 - NY Times launch
Through pilot programs, cities are giving checks to artists in hopes of allowing them to focus on their creative output instead of having a second job.
April 5, 2021 - Mpls St. Paul Mag launch
"St. Paul nonprofit launches guaranteed income program for Frogtown and Rondo artists."
June 14, 2021 - WNYC Studios/Takeaway launch
"Why Major Cities Are Experimenting with Guaranteed Income for Artists."