Kids, Want to Win a $30,000 Scholarship and Show Your Art to Billions? Google’s Annual Doodle Contest Is Now Open

The Doodle for Google winner in 2019, by Arantza Peña Popo.

Most artists dream of sharing their art with an audience of hundreds, maybe thousands. But the team behind Google’s Doodles—those quirky illustrations and animations that replace the search engine’s logo each day—has their work seen by billions.

Now, you too can have your work grace the tech giant’s landing page. The company has released an open call for its 12th annual Doodle for Google contest, which invites young US artists in grades K-12 to submit drawings based on a congenial theme that incorporates the Google logo. This year’s theme? “I show kindness by…”

“Acts of kindness bring more joy, light, and warmth to the world,” says Jessica Yu, the head of Google’s Doodle team, in the contest’s announcement. “They cost nothing, but mean everything.”

Well, isn’t that lovely.

The Doodle for Google winner in 2016, by Akilah Johnson.

The winner will be chosen from a shortlist of five finalists. Besides having their illustration featured atop Google.com for a day, the winner will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a $50,000 technology package for their school, and a trip to the company’s headquarters in California. The four other finalists will also join on the trip and will each get a $5,000 scholarship. Submissions for this year’s contest close on March 13, 2020.

The Doodle contest has been held yearly since 2008. Last year’s winner was Arantza Peña Popo, a high school senior from Georgia who responded to the theme, “When I grow up I hope…” with a picture of herself below a framed painting of her mother. She also made a charming appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

“[The Doodle team is ] a very heart-driven organization in a very data-driven company, quite frankly,” Yu told Artnet last year. “We know that not every Doodle is going to be everyone’s favorite, so we aim to ensure that every Doodle is going to be somebody’s favorite.”

Apply for this year’s Doodle for Google contest here. And see other previous winners below.