ADA – East Central University art student Adyson Sullivan is ready to share her work with the community in her upcoming senior exhibit, “OMG, I’m So Bipolar.”
Sullivan, who attended schools in Ada and Shawnee before coming to ECU, will graduate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in December. Her senior exhibit is an exploration of exploding stigmas around mental health.
“I want people to understand,” Sullivan said about her artwork. “As someone who has bipolar disorder, and a voice, I knew this was a topic I had to speak on. Mental health is so important to us as humans and yet we still have such awful stigmas around disorders of the mind. I want to help be a light in the tunnel. I also hope that if someone comes to this (show) struggling, they’ll know at least that they are not alone.”
Sullivan said she became interested in art while attending Shawnee High School and she credits ECU faculty with helping her cultivate her unique artistic voice over the past few years. She said she is still discovering her muse, which so far has manifested in many ways.
“This question has been puzzling me for a while,” Sullivan said. “I get asked all the time what inspires me, but when I think about it, everything does. My humor, my sadness, the trees outside, my mother’s face, anything really could inspire me to make art.”
After graduation, Sullivan said she would pursue artist residencies around the country.
“I want to travel, meet new artists, and make a name for myself in the arts community,” she said. “While doing that, I’ll do some freelance graphic design work. This is my simple plan right now. I have a big life ahead of me and I know that no matter where I land, I’ll be making art and working in graphic design.”
Sullivan’s “OMG, I’m So Bipolar” exhibit is on display in the Pogue Gallery, located inside ECU’s Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center, from November 19 until December 3. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Her exhibit is free and open to the public.
Cutline: This work is part of a larger piece in Sullivan’s upcoming senior art show called “An Observation of the Ego.” (Adyson Sullivan)
-ECU-