- Radio Monash Journalism
Art Is(n't) Pain: The Be Good Project and deconstructing the tortured artist ideal
Written by Riya Kiran.

Intent on addressing mental health in the arts industry, The Be Good Project has brought Melbourne artists together for a heart-warming collaborative project.
“You’re always going to suffer as a human being, but you don’t have to go out of your way to suffer for art."
Radio Monash spoke with founder of emerging label Robot Jaw Records, Josh Hicks, about the initiative.
The inspiration for this project came from Josh’s own experiences as a musician balancing mental health with creating art.
“I’ve begun to understand that if my art comes from an inherently unstable place, then I would need a healthy way to express that.”
The multimedia project takes the form of a compilation album and accompanying art and lyric book, consisting of 14 tracks and 13 visual art pieces as well as an artist Q&A series. Josh explained that it was released in a demo track style to “take away from the commodification".
“Something just for art’s sake.”
