Project
Sanaa huru
Sanaa Huru
How It
Started
It began with a brush, a dusty wall, and a group of students I barely knew.
I was in Kenya, halfway across the world from home, helping out with an art project in a rural school. Most of the kids had never painted before. They looked at the blank wall like it was something sacred. Some held their brushes too tightly. Others giggled nervously, waiting to be told what to do.
But once the colors started flowing, something shifted. The wall wasn’t just a wall anymore. It became a storybook, a mirror, a celebration. A few hours later, the kids were signing their names at the bottom like proud artists. That moment stuck with me.
It reminded me that art isn’t a luxury. It’s not just a class or a hobby. It’s a language. A way to say, “I exist.”
How It
Started
It began with a brush, a dusty wall, and a group of students I barely knew.
I was in Kenya, halfway across the world from home, helping out with an art project in a rural school. Most of the kids had never painted before. They looked at the blank wall like it was something sacred. Some held their brushes too tightly. Others giggled nervously, waiting to be told what to do.
But once the colors started flowing, something shifted. The wall wasn’t just a wall anymore. It became a storybook, a mirror, a celebration. A few hours later, the kids were signing their names at the bottom like proud artists. That moment stuck with me.
It reminded me that art isn’t a luxury. It’s not just a class or a hobby. It’s a language. A way to say, “I exist.”
Why Sanaa Huru?
The name means “art is free” in Swahili. And that’s what this project became for me: a space to explore how art can move beyond galleries and classrooms: to connect, to heal, to empower.
Sanaa Huru grew from that first mural into something bigger:
Exhibitions led by students
Collaborative installations with young artists
Fundraisers where paintings supported real causes
Moments where creativity became agency. It’s still growing, evolving with every new place, every person who joins, every story we decide to tell through color, motion, or material.
Why Sanaa Huru?
The name means “art is free” in Swahili. And that’s what this project became for me: a space to explore how art can move beyond galleries and classrooms: to connect, to heal, to empower.
Sanaa Huru grew from that first mural into something bigger:
Exhibitions led by students
Collaborative installations with young artists
Fundraisers where paintings supported real causes
Moments where creativity became agency. It’s still growing, evolving with every new place, every person who joins, every story we decide to tell through color, motion, or material.
What We Believe
We believe that:
• Art belongs to everyone.
• Creativity is a right, not a reward.
• Stories deserve to be seen, especially those we don’t always hear.
Whether it’s a tangled string sculpture or a mural in a remote village, Sanaa Huru is about what happens when people, especially young people, are given space to speak through creation.
What We Believe
We believe that:
• Art belongs to everyone.
• Creativity is a right, not a reward.
• Stories deserve to be seen, especially those we don’t always hear.
Whether it’s a tangled string sculpture or a mural in a remote village, Sanaa Huru is about what happens when people, especially young people, are given space to speak through creation.
What's Next?
We’re still figuring it out, to be honest. That’s part of the beauty. Sanaa Huru isn’t a finished piece; it’s a work in progress, stitched together by the hands and hearts of those who show up.
Not every wall needs paint. Some just need someone to notice. We’re here for both.
What's Next?
We’re still figuring it out, to be honest. That’s part of the beauty. Sanaa Huru isn’t a finished piece; it’s a work in progress, stitched together by the hands and hearts of those who show up.
Not every wall needs paint. Some just need someone to notice. We’re here for both.