Google Doodles book (Courtesy of Google)
We’ve all noticed the drawings that temporarily replace or embellish Google’s logo on the website’s homepage on holidays, special events, or days commemorating important historical figures. For the twelfth consecutive year, that coveted, highly-visible space is up for grabs to one young artist in the US through the tech company’s “Doodle for Google” competition. In addition to having their work featured on the tech company’s landing page for an entire day, the winner will receive a $30,000 college scholarship, and the winner’s school will be awarded a $50,000 technology package.
Open to artists ages K-12, “Doodle for Google” is organized around a different theme every year, and the 2020 contest asks participants: how do you show kindness?
“We’re inviting young artists in grades K-12 to open up their creative hearts and show us how they find ways to be kind,” reads a Google blog entry about the competition, which encourages diverse and multiple interpretations to its open-ended theme — from speaking out against bullying to starting a community garden.
A panel of judges, among them Rodney Robinson, 2019’s National Teacher of the Year, will narrow down the winners from each state and grade group based on artistic merit, creativity, and theme communication, and the public will vote for their favorite doodle.
Last year, the “Doodle for Google” competition’s theme was “When I grow up, I hope…” The winner was Arantza Peña Popo, then a high school senior in Georgia. “When I grow up, I hope to care for my mom as much as she cared for me my entire life,” Arantza wrote in a statement included along with her artwork. Her entry, a painting titled Once you get it, give it back (2019), depicts Arantza caring for her older mother in the foreground, and a framed picture of her mother carrying Arantza as a baby in the background.
“Doodle for Google” is accepting online and mailed submissions until March 13, 2020 at 8:00pm PST. Instructions and an entry form can be found here.
