Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Meet 15-Year-Old Akilah Johnson, First African-American Google Doodle Winner!


Akilah Johnson, 15 years old African-American, a sophomore at Eastern Senior High School in Northeast Washington is the winner of Google's Doodle 4 Google contest. The contest’s theme was — “What makes me...me”

Akilah has an amazing back story associated with her drawing, especially considering the contestants she was up against. She drew a box-braided Doodle, titled “My Afrocentric Life,” using color pencils, black crayons and Sharpie markers. The Doodle includes symbols of black heritage and signs representing the Black Lives Matter movement and it only took her about two weeks to complete.

She is #Doodle4Google's first ever African-American contest winner and this is what she said about her artwork on Google's blog
“I’ve always been encouraged to pursue art, especially by my teachers, but participating in Doodle 4 Google gave me an understanding of why art matters and why MY art matters—because it speaks to people. No matter our differences, everyone is touched by art in some way. Winning this competition opened my eyes to the many types of art and the many ways it can resonate with people. I’m excited to keep creating art that matters."
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13 comments:

  1. I love her doodle! I feel like it's so whimsical and hopeful! Very pretty :D

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  2. Wow she is so artistic! I wonder how many hours it took for her to finish that masterpiece.

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  3. Her artwork is wonderful. It is beautifully made. She really is talented and she deserves that recognition.

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  4. That's a really lovely doodle. Congrats to her and she deserves to win the Google Doodle contest.

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  5. Just 15 years old, so talented in bringing out such a complex and joyous drawing. Thank you for sharing her talent with the rest of the world, as it should.

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  6. That is great that she had people to encourage her. Big congrats to her on her win.

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  7. That is great that she had people to encourage her. Big congrats to her on her win.

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  8. 15 years old? Now isn't she a talented young lady! I love the doodle that she made for google, it's definitely very creative and expressive as well. I hope she gets more exposure, she deserves it!

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  9. Congratulations to her. I think she did a really good job with her artwork and I'm looking forward to seeing it when I do my Google search.

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  10. Way too good for such a young age! Loved her ideas and the resulting doodle. No wonder she is a winner.

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  11. Gorgeous.. Love the inclusion of hieroglyphics to modern Africa mixture in symbols..

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  12. Love her doodles! I'm like how she incorporate her own picture into the doodle. I didn't know about this Google contest, but definitely, it's beautiful!

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