At 14, Liberty Lake resident to record for TEDx in New York as she juggles art, dance, nonprofits

Liberty Lake resident Sindhu Surapaneni faced rejection 50 times to sell her artwork in support of Spokane charities. Instead of giving up, she persisted one more time.

That No. 51 proposal led to Horizon Credit Union buying from her art project, “Everyone Is Loved Here.” The floodgates then opened with offers from CHAS Health, Numerica Credit Union, Idaho Central Credit Union and Spokane Arts. From proceeds, Sindhu donated $16,000 to nonprofits that help homeless and low-income families.

Her art has supported such groups as Blessings Under the Bridge and Giving Back Packs. In addition to her studies at Selkirk Middle School, she leads other nonprofits, does dance lessons and teaches art to kids – all at age 14. Next up, she’s aiming at a TEDx in Clinton, New York, on, “The Art of Rewriting Your Story: Sharpening Your Mindset.”

Sindhu was scheduled to fly to New York on Friday to record that talk, as the second TEDx she’s done. She did one for the Spokane TEDx in October 2022, “You Can Do It,” with a theme that age isn’t a factor in serving others and making an impact.

For New York, she hopes to share about overcoming obstacles.

“A lot of people assume that my journey was smooth the whole time,” she said. “My talk is more about how I faced obstacles, how I was able to overcome them and how others can do the same when they’re faced with obstacles instead of getting discouraged – to get back up and be persistent because good things will come eventually.”

Today, her “Everyone Is Loved Here” art project is in about 20 different locations, including in Washington, Idaho and New York. She said the artwork is mostly in schools and businesses and organizations.

“Originally when I had this idea, it was more of a sense of belonging in schools because I noticed that students struggled ever since the COVID-19 shutdown in coming back; it was kind of hard making friends during that time,” Sindhu said.

“I made this artwork to address this, and I was really excited. I reached out to many organizations and businesses to buy them, but over six months and 50 attempts, I was met with numerous rejections and disinterest. I was really close to giving up, but then I realized I might just have to fail 50 times to succeed the next. I tried one more time and that was the time that Horizon Credit Union responded and bought my art.”

Sindhu learned about two months ago that New York TEDx accepted her speech proposal and offered to cover some of the travel expenses for her and family. They won’t stay in New York long, because of school .

It will be a few months before her TEDx Talk is available to watch, because of the production and approval process, she said. “After a few months, then the videos get published on YouTube and the TED website.”

The TEDx groups are independently organized in locations across the U.S., and people can apply anywhere. A pitch to New York seemed appealing as a bigger city with a wider audience, she said. Sindhu, who is comfortable giving speeches, believes the TEDx Talks are impactful.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’d watch them. They are inspiring stories and speeches. Usually it’s not necessarily kids who give them, but it’s seeing different life experiences from different people. It can help you get a head start in learning how to think, act and approach difficult circumstances. And it gives you different life lessons you can learn from in a professional and mature way.”

Sindhu has pursued entrepreneurial ideas since early childhood. Through all of her art sold, she’s donated a total of about $20,000 to charities.

She’s both an international storyteller and art instructor. She guided more than 400 free creative sessions on Zoom and Facebook Live as an outlet for kids during the pandemic, and Sindhu runs Imaginations2Creation, an art page and now a nonprofit with a goal of producing art that embodies positivity and hope.

By age 12, she was the youngest person to be nominated for a Spokane Arts award for inclusion.

Additionally, she offers students dance lessons in the style of Bollywood, a common name for the film industry in India. Bollywood movies are famous for their musical numbers and elaborately choreographed dancing. She said both her parents were born and raised in India, then came to the U.S. about 23 years ago for college and stayed. The family includes her brother, who is a high school senior.

“I offer a lot of free Bollywood dance classes, and teach and choreograph Bollywood dances,” Sindhu said. “In the summer, I usually work with another nonprofit that I run, Indian Youth Club of Spokane, and teach dances to different students – all different ages.

“We perform them in different locations and at events, more so during the summer. We also perform in schools for cultural days, so now I think we’re in six different schools performing.”

With high school on the horizon and juggling all her interests, Sindhu said she doesn’t have a career goal in mind. She plans to keep one path going, though.

“I know I want to continue to help people throughout my life.”