Travis Bonick

I’m Travis Bonick, and I’m starting this fundraiser for myself and the future of Artgratia.com For most of my life, I was fighting a battle I didn’t even know I was in. For years, I was severely misdiagnosed, mistreated, and medicated by a medical system that simply wouldn’t listen. I was hospitalized many times, and it pushed me to the absolute edge—nearly costing my life. But after everything I went through, I finally uncovered the truth: I received the correct diagnosis of autism, formally called Aspergers syndrome, which changed everything. Out of that near-fatal struggle for survival, I built Artgratia. What began as a desperate fight for my own clarity has evolved into a neuroarts company at the intersection of art, neuroscience, and technology. Sponsored by Dallas Art Therapy, Artgratia creates neuroscience-infused art experiences and multi-sensory subscription boxes designed to help parents, caregivers, and kids. These experiences act as a natural elixir for anxiety, recruiting specific brain regions for deep, powerful change in the brain, body, and nervous system—while also rescuing the next generation from the numbing trap of screens, tablets, and devices. Grounded in the Aspen Institute's NeuroArts Blueprint, our work harnesses the proven science of how the arts in all their modalities measurably transform the brain, body, and nervous system. As neuroscientist-backed research confirms, "advanced technologies... are providing important data about the arts' unique ability to alter a complex physiological network of interconnected systems" to heal, build resilience, and drive well-being. I am raising funds to expand Artgratia, scale our production, and make these evidence-based tools accessible to youth and those who need them most. My hope is to turn my painful experience into something that creates healing, connection, and purpose.  If my story speaks to you, please consider donating and sharing this fundraiser. Your support will help me grow Artgratia and make a real difference in the lives of others.