“The Irish government is offering a €325 weekly basic income trial for
artists which will last for three years. As part of the trial 2,000
artists will be randomly selected from all of the applicants. The
government definition of artists is broad and covers any creative or
interpretative expression, including: visual arts, theatre, literature,
music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture.
The trial hopes to minimise the loss of skill and experience from the
arts sector whilst also recognising the value that artists contributes
to society. In addition, the trial is aiming to prove that a basic
income enables artists to focus on projects without their projects being
impacted from the stress of needing to look for work in other sectors
to sustain them. Artists who receive the payment are also free to obtain
additional work if they please without affecting the payment, however
the payment is taxed so additional work may change their tax rate…
The policy was announced by Ireland’s Minster for the Arts Catherine
Martin who is a member of Ireland’s Green Party. The Green party are one
of three parties in a coalition government in Ireland. When launching
the policy Martin said,
“I believe that this scheme is the start of a fundamental change in
the way Ireland supports and recognises her artists and arts community.”
Martin went on to say,
“This pilot scheme represents a groundbreaking opportunity for us to
explore how the role of the artist in Irish society can be protected
and nurtured so we can continue to be inspired by great art for
generations to come.”” -via The Good News Hub, 4/30/22
Persephone-Kore was an agricultural deity as the goddess of spring, vegetation, and of grain, but she was also the Queen of the underworld and wife of Hades and, to the Romans, she was known as Proserpina. She was the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and Demeter, the Olympian goddess of agriculture, and when she was associated with her mother, especially in relation to the Eleusinian mysteries, she was referred to as Kore which means maiden, and signifies her as both a maiden and daughter.
The most important cult associated with Persephone is the Eleusinian Mysteries. These rituals were observed regularly at Eleusis, northwest of Athens, between circa sixteen hundred BCE and three ninety-two CE and, despite the longevity of this cult and the associated rituals, much of what happened during the mysteries are still just that, a mystery. We do know that Demeter and Kore were honoured, and the story of Kore’s abduction was celebrated during the mysteries. The initiates were sworn to secrecy surrounding the details of the ritual, but we know that after participating, initiates were changed and no longer feared death.
