Photo Courtesy of Claudia Maturell
Around the time that Kenneth McQueen received his first guaranteed basic income payment, he started rollerskating. The 35-year-old would zip around Riverbank State Park in his Harlem neighborhood. It was "movement therapy," and helped him cope with financial stress, he said.
McQueen was a participant in Creative Rebuild New York, a guaranteed basic income pilot for artists across the state. Beginning in summer 2022, 2,400 participants were given $1,000 monthly for 18 months, no strings attached. They could spend their money however they chose.
For McQueen, the pilot was a relief. He's a fashion designer and founder of the nonprofit social group Respect My Space Alliance, a community of roller skaters focused on inclusivity. On his online OkBleepShop — a platform that showcases fashion from a diverse group of artists — McQueen sells some of his designs, like hoodies, tote bags, and T-shirts with slogans like "Destroy White Supremacy" and "Respect My Skates."
McQueen said he loves his work, but it can be challenging to pay bills as an artist.
"I'm meeting people and making friends, and we all have the same story," he told Business Insider. "These are super talented, very educated, beautiful, nice people, but we cannot get jobs."
A majority of artists in New York have a household income below $50,000 a year, though that figure can fluctuate significantly month-to-month, per a survey by Creative Rebuild New York of over 13,000 artists conducted between February and May 2022. The survey also found that 46% of artists rely on gig work for additional income.
To qualify for the GBI pilot, participants like McQueen had to self-identify as an artist, culture bearer, or culture maker. This could include designers, painters, singers, dancers, writers, or orators. Participants' art was not evaluated based on merit.
They also had to demonstrate financial need based on the self-sufficiency standard, an income measure created in the 1990s by Dr. Diana Pearce that evaluates how much money a person needs to afford the basics where they live. Funding for the program came from the Mellon Foundation, Tides Center, Ford Foundation, and Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Creative Rebuild New York's pilot joins over 100 guaranteed basic income programs across America. Previous participants have told BI that they used their basic income to pay rent, afford groceries, drop second jobs, pay down debt, and support their families.
Although McQueen said he feels anxious now that his $1,000 payments have ended, he is excited about his next opportunities.
Primarily, basic income gave McQueen "peace of mind," he said. He didn't have a full-time job when the pandemic hit, and he said he was temporarily receiving unemployment benefits.
A monthly boost from Creative Rebuild New York meant McQueen could pay his rent and avoid debt. The GBI also gave him more freedom to choose design gigs and help his mother when she needed healthcare support.
"It kicked in at just the right time," he said.
McQueen said that GBI also allowed him to launch Respect My Space Alliance. As a Black and LGBTQ+ roller skater, McQueen said he created the group in 2022 to foster a safer and more inclusive skating culture for himself and his friends. Now, the organization offers events and workshops. McQueen even had enough money to buy himself a new pair of skates.
"I was spending that money to create another world for me to live in and to continue to create community and create income," McQueen said.
He added that he expects Respect My Space Alliance will create a steady job for himself and other New York roller skaters as the organization grows. Receiving $1,000 a month pushed him "to another level of entrepreneurship," he said.
The Creative Rebuild New York payments concluded in spring 2024 and, now that he is no longer receiving the money, McQueen feels stressed. He isn't sure how he's going to make his next rent payment.
US pilot results like New York's have shown that cash payments help people pay for housing and secure jobs — but the trials and subsequent research don't reflect long-term results. It's not yet clear how GBI shapes participants' financial stability in the years after their programs end, and some politicians and economists say the basic income model is too expensive for cities or private funders to sustain.
Maura Cuffie-Peterson — the director of strategic initiatives, guaranteed income at Creative Rebuild New York — previously told BI that many artists struggle to make ends meet. Along with a GBI pilot, the organization also ran a fellowship program that funded $65,000 annual salaries for 300 artists between 2022 and 2024.
"Artists have been making so much important work that we all live by, live with, and care about," she said. "But they are very rarely fairly compensated or taken care of to make that work."
McQueen isn't sure what will happen next, but he's grateful for the way basic income helped his career and mental health.
"It was the ignition of my own financial freedom, and although I'm still navigating my way out of the muddy waters financially, I'm thankful because I see hope in the future," he said.
Have you benefited from a guaranteed basic income program? Are you open to sharing how you spent the money? If so, reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.
