Grantee: Sindhu Surapaneni

Sindhu Surapaneni is a 13-year-old artist from Liberty Lake. She creates art that
represents diversity and inclusion to inspire the youth in the Inland Northwest and
encourage others to explore the intersection of diversity and creativity.

In February 2022, Surapaneni painted an acrylic painting with the message of diversity
and inclusion, in the hope that every young person who saw it would feel accepted,
included, and loved. The painting depicts the earth in the shape of a heart, containing a
diverse group of small silhouettes, which make up one larger silhouette. Below the
image, Surapeneni hand lettered the words “Everyone is loved here!”

With SAGA support, Surapaneni will install a canvas print of her painting in a handful of
public schools across Liberty Lake and Spokane, working closely with each school to
determine size and placement. She will also customize the print with the school colors,
allowing the students who see the painting to have an additional point of connection
with the message.

Of the mission driving her endeavor, Surapaneni wrote: “Schools should be a public
place where all the students feel loved, valued, and accepted regardless of any
differences. We can find thousands of reasons to be divided but one strong reason to be
united.”