Sindhu Surapaneni nominated for the Spokane Arts Award in Inclusion

With a registration fee of only $ 10, Surapaneni hosted a 6-week summer camp and raised funds for a nonprofit organization.

SPOKANE, Wash – Sindhu Surapaneni, a 12-year-old student at Liberty Lake, spent her time teaching others her art during the COVID-19 pandemic. She taught her art with love and with the sole aim of helping others.

During the quarantine, Sindhu, in partnership with the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), a nonprofit, hosted a 6-week summer camp with an enrollment fee of just $ 10, with 560 students enrolling.

Sindhu’s mother, Sowmya Surapaneni, said Sindhu raised $ 2,800 through her art classes for Blessings Under the Bridge (BUTB), a nonprofit for the homeless. She donated more than $ 3,900 from her art to BUTB in the past three months.

Sindhu was nominated for the Spokane Art Awards 2021 because she exemplifies inclusion in her community. The award is given to individuals in the community who build bridges between divided groups and take a proactive approach to accessibility and inclusion.

Sindhu is the youngest artist ever to be nominated for an award at the Spokane Arts Awards.

Sindhu has achieved various things through art. For one of her drawings, she became a student start of the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP), a non-profit organization aimed at academically gifted students in grades 4-12. She drew a girl whose face was depicted in different colors, with a heart-shaped American flag in the background, whose face was depicted in different colors. The drawing depicted strength, diversity and promoted peace.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Sindhu spent her time giving free art online courses through Facebook and Zoom, where she taught more than 2,000 students to draw.

Sindhu’s goal this year is to donate $ 1,111 to the nonprofit Blessings Under the Bridge.

The 2021 Spokane Arts Awards winners will be announced at the Spokane Arts Awards celebration on September 18.