Could a Salt Lake third grader’s Google doodle be seen by billions? Only if you vote for it.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A Salt Lake City third grader is among the finalists to have their artwork displayed on the Google homepage for a day for hundreds of millions worldwide to see.
Open Classroom School student Gibran Nahle submitted his art for the 16th annual Doodle for Google contest. Students were encouraged to try new mediums, think outside the box and present art incorporating the Google logo using the prompt “My wish for the next 25 years.”
One winner was selected from each of the 55 states and U.S. territories with Gibran’s coming out on top to represent the State of Utah.
“For him to be acknowledged for something that he loves and something that he uses when he is going through emotions – art is a very big tool for him to go through hard stuff or just to express himself as well,” said Gibran’s mother, Chelsea Abbott.
Girban’s parents told ABC4.com that he comes from a very artistic background and has been surrounded by the arts his whole life. His father, Marwan Nahle, said he was a very active musician, filmmaker, and painter. His grandfather was also a well-known and established Lebanese painter.
Marwan said he has been giving Gibran opportunities to explore the artistic world since was two years old using acrylic paints and blank canvas.
“I have images of him working with two brushes. My dad used to paint with two brushes. He was very famous for that,” said Marwan Nahle. “He can use two hands, painting at the same time and Gibran, at two years old, was doing that as well.”
With encouragement from his parents, Gibran continued to explore the arts. Now he uses his talents drawing on skateboards and even his own clothes. When his art teacher from his old school in South Jordan told him about the Doodle for Google contest, he knew he had to apply.
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“Gibran for like one month was like ‘I’m doing this.’ And we were in the middle of moving here,” said Chelsea Abbott. “I didn’t have time to think of it much but he was very determined.”
Gibran told ABC4.com that the thought put in behind the artwork took a long time. His vision for the prompt was his wish for the world to be more connected with other life and cultures but also wanted to put a little bit of himself into the design.
“I thought of everything I love and stuff,” said Gibran, pointing to the first ‘o’ designed as a donut. “The ‘G’ is like a big monster or something and the checkers are for my favorite skate shop, which is Zumies. Then there is a hotdog ‘l’ and the ‘e’ is, like, drips.”
Once Gibran put pen to paper to bring his ideas to life, he said the whole process took about 30 minutes.
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Both Chelsea and Marwan said they are proud and excited to see their son start his artistic journey. They hope he can be an inspiration for others to chase the arts as well.
“I think it’s a beautiful energy. We need it,” said Marwan. “Especially in these days for sure. More kids, more encouragement from parents so that children open up and just be connected with the art world. I think it’s just an incredible energy to have.”
As for Gibran, he told ABC4.com he plans to keep up with the arts but also pursue a career in skateboarding and he won’t be giving up any time soon.
“Follow your dreams and put a lot of work into it,” said Gibran.
Girban’s Doodle for Google can be found online on the competition’s webpage, here. Voting to select the five national finalists opened on Wednesday, May 22, and will remain open until Tuesday, June 4.
The national winner will be selected to be on Google’s homepage for a day. According to Semrush, an online website traffic checker, the Google homepage is the most visited website worldwide. In April 2024, it received over 136 billion visits, most of which came from the United States.
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