‘A contributing life’: living a contributing life as ‘a person’, ‘an artist’ and ‘an artist with a mental illness’

The Australian National Mental Health Commission recently adopted a focus on ‘a contributing life’ to acknowledge the importance of full and meaningful participation in community life. This concept compels new conversations about the complex nature of life experiences for people with lived experience of mental illness. This article examines narratives by eight artists with lived experience of mental illness to understand how opportunities are...