Sravya Attaluri

How did you start making art that empowers people?

I started making art to cope with grief and depression; helping express and understand my emotions on my personal journey to mindfulness and pursuit of happiness. The outcome was not only powerful and moving, but also resonated with many others. This made me realize the power and impact that good design and illustration can have on society and I decided to study fine art at the University of Southern California and pursue it as a career. I then realized there is a lack of representation in the art industry. Not only is advocating for mental health important for me, but I also want to make sure women of colour are represented in storybooks, comic books, animation, and fine art. I grew up not being able to see illustrations and paintings of girls who look like me in books and museums and I want to be able to contribute to that change.

What do you do to self-care?

I start my day with an art therapy practice that I invented myself called daily doodles. It involves me instinctually picking up random colors and drawing what comes to mind to help reflect on my state of mind. I then reflect on the colors I was drawn to, the visuals that came about and write down a little reflection. Apart from the daily doodling, regular therapy sessions have also become an important way I practice self-care.