A guaranteed income program aimed at pandemic relief in San Francisco will pay 130 local artists $1,000 a month
Starting in May, some qualifying San Francisco artists will get $1,000 a month for six months under a pilot program.
The program was announced on March 25 by the city's mayor London Breed. Applications are being accepted until April 15 via the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts website before 130 artists will be selected by late May.
"If we help the arts recover, the arts will help San Francisco recover," Breed said in a statement on the program's website. "This new program is an innovative effort to help our creative sector get through this challenging time, and come back even stronger and more resilient than before."
Eligibility requirements for the program include being a resident of San Francisco and being an artist "whose artistic practice is rooted in a historically marginalized community."
Artists are defined as "someone who actively engages with the community through music, dance, creative writing, visual art, performance art, installation, photography, theater or film," according to the program's website.
Applicants must also meet certain income requirements to qualify. For a single-person household, the income limit is $60,900; for a two-person household, the limit is a combined $69,600.
"At the end of the day, we want everyone in San Francisco to live healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives, without worrying about how they'll pay rent or get food on the table," Breed told the Chronicle. "I'm committed to making San Francisco a more equitable, just, and thriving city, and we're exploring this guaranteed income model to see if it can help us advance those goals."
The pilot program follows similar efforts in nearby communities of Marin County, Stockton, and Oakland to support struggling residents during the pandemic.
"Though the Pilot is focused on all artists facing financial insecurity resulting from the pandemic, we are building a comprehensive and community-centered outreach strategy that ensures we reach those hardest hit, including our BIPOC, Immigrant, Disabled, and LGBTQ+ artist communities," according to the program's website.
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