Vineeth Vaidyula

A gift to the Families for Freedom community, for being an inspiration and a force to reckon with. The "Flower of Freedom" represents the fight for justice and equity in all spaces. Purple, traditionally linked to wealth and royalty, is reclaimed in this piece as a color of resilience, resistance, and rebirth.

I've always believed the Evil Eye had guided Dorothy’s journey, watching over her from the Emerald City. She meets the Good Witch, finds loyal friends who stand by her, and is gifted the ruby slippers that allow her return home. Even her house lands precisely where it needs to, vanquishing the Wicked Witch.

I spent 8 months in India during my Fulbright year, where, for the first time in my life, I missed winter and its numbing embrace. What started off as a painting of a snowflake transformed into an eating, gnawing desire to be one with Kelvin's 0.

During my brief stay in Tamil Nadu, India, I was struck by how the spices in my breakfast thali unfolded on my palate. Turmeric, cumin, cloves, mustard, and fenugreek start as subtle notes, explode, and then pulse in an immense, rhythmic heat. It's a rapid, powerful release, overwhelming and all-encompassing. It's perfection.