As an artist living with bipolar disorder, I’d like to take a minute to highlight the excellent work being done by the Ryan Licht Sang Foundation for Bipolar Disorder. Every year, they offer a competition for artists who identify as living with bipolar disorder called INSIGHTS. If an artist is selected for INSIGHTS, they receive a $500 grant from the foundation, an invitation to the exhibition’s opening night, and a permanent place in the foundation’s touring art collection.
I was honored to have my art selected for INSIGHTS in 2022 and again in 2025, where the theme was resilience. I believe in the strong tie between creativity and the bipolar brain that they celebrate, and that other artists and authors have explored. Dusty and Joyce Sang created the foundation after their son Ryan passed away from bipolar disorder at the age of 24. Ryan was a talented artist and the Sangs launched the foundation to create awareness of the condition and to fund research into biomarkers and early intervention for this mental illness.
I have to admit, sometimes my contrarian brain has thought, is there some kind of tension between wanting to celebrate the artistic gifts of bipolar disorder, and funding research for early detection and intervention? I don’t think there’s a “cure” in any case for bipolar disorder, only treatment in whatever form that takes. For many people living with bipolar disorder, art is part of the treatment and recovery process, and I do think early intervention would help save lives. I think that these art exhibits give people hope and pride that those living with a chronic mental health condition can possess creative gifts, and that creativity can also express how it feels to live with that condition in a way that could not otherwise be communicated.
You can learn more about the Ryan Licht Sang Foundation here: The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation
