Brenton Little was a musician, designer, and photographer. The kind of person that created light wherever he went and whatever creative project he touched. The Wildlight Project was founded in his memory.

Brenton struggled with mental health challenges and tragically passed away in October 2025.

It rarely shows up for them when they need help the most.

Artists experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide than the general population. Most can't afford therapy. Many don't have insurance. The ones who know help exists can't navigate the system while they're in crisis. And the ones who could seek help don't, because they've been told that suffering is the price of making something real.

Hollywood romanticizes it. Culture perpetuates it. The myth that great art requires great suffering. That medication dulls the edge. That therapy files down the parts of you that make the work interesting. That you have to hurt to create something real.

It's the opposite. Suffering doesn't fuel creativity. It destroys it. An artist who can't get out of bed isn't making anything. An artist drowning in anxiety isn't taking risks. An artist in crisis isn't reaching for something new. They're just trying to survive the day.

David Lynch said it plainly:

Getting help doesn't kill your creativity. It clears the path back to it. Medication doesn't dull the work. It lets you sit down long enough to do it. The myth says suffering is the price. The truth is suffering is the thing standing in the way.

The Wildlight Project is a community and marketplace where artists sell their work and choose to donate a percentage of every sale to fund emergency therapy grants for fellow creatives.

No listing fees. No monthly charges. No gatekeepers. Artists supporting artists through the thing they already do: create.

We complement organizations like MusiCares, Backline, Sweet Relief, and Creatives Care. Those organizations do essential work. Wildlight serves artists across all disciplines, creates direct peer community, and meets artists where they already sell. We also help connect artists to those existing programs they may not know about.

Justin Hodges is a musician, artist, designer, and web developer based in Bentonville, Arkansas. He founded The Wildlight Project in memory of Brenton Little, his brother-in-law, bandmate, and one of his closest friends for nearly two decades.

In 2011, Justin and Brenton recorded an album together. Two people making something that neither could have made alone. That album is being re-released as the organization's launch fundraiser, with 100% of proceeds going to the mission.

Justin is also releasing everything else he has. Solo albums. Singles. Unreleased recordings. Re-releases. Paintings. Writing. 100% of proceeds from all of it go directly to the mission. He will be the first Wildlight artist.

Justin has navigated his own mental health journey and knows firsthand how difficult it is to find the right support. He brings artistic credibility as a working musician and designer, technical capability to build the platform himself (keeping costs minimal and directing maximum funds to programs), and personal experience with the barriers artists face.