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Ridgway presenter proposes $2,000-a-month basic income pilot for local creatives
Summary
Artist and resident Tia Mihelarakis told the Ridgway Town Council she wants a "basic income for creatives" pilot—100 residents receiving $2,000 per month for 12 months—and proposed a nonprofit Creative Arts Center to support equipment and space.
Tia Mihelarakis urged the Ridgway Town Council on Dec. 3 to adopt measures to keep local artists and creatives in the community, presenting a PowerPoint titled "Keep Ridgway Creative" and saying "to forget art is to forget who we are."
Mihelarakis described pressures faced by local creatives, including high housing costs, reduced tourism, lack of studio space, what she called "corporate overshadowing" and the perceived threat of artificial intelligence "devaluing human artistic skills." She proposed a basic-income style pilot that would provide a regular cash payment without work requirements; she described an illustrative model of 100 residents receiving $2,000 per month for 12 months and advocated creating a Creative Arts Center as a nonprofit to provide equipment, space, supplies and training.
During the workshop the council asked questions and discussed the proposal with Mihelarakis. She later raised concerns about a proposal to convert a local lodging facility to employee housing rather than short-term housing, saying that change could affect creatives' housing options.
Council members and staff discussed the idea as part of the budget workshop; no council decision to fund a pilot was recorded at the meeting.
