Happy International Women’s Day collegiates! In honor of this holiday, Google showcased 12 female artists from 12 different countries by featuring them in their fan-favorite doodles (you know, the beautiful images on the Google home page?). In each doodle, a woman artist shares a part of their own story and the experiences that influenced their lives as women.
The goal, according to Google’s press release, was to “celebrate our collective experiences, with all of their commonalities and differences” and to “shine a light on the important and far reaching impact of everyday women.”
You can check out previews of the doodles below, as well as each of the artists’ responses to what International Women’s Day means to them and the impact they hope their work will leave behind:
Chihiro Takeuchi (Japan)
“It [International Women’s Day] means an opportunity to share the stories of Japanese women with the people all around the world, regardless of their age or gender and to inspire young women to change the new millennium for the better.”
“I hope that people will feel that they are never too old or too young to challenge themselves with new activities, new jobs or new things to learn.”
Philippa Rice (UK)
“International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to support, promote and celebrate women artists and writers from around the world and to share our stories. I love to see my social media feeds filled with art from loads of my favorite artists and discover the work of so many women who I wasn’t aware of before.”
“My story is about how overwhelming it is to become a mother and how talking to others and sharing your troubles can make you feel better. I hope that if anyone reads it and identifies with it, then they can at least feel that they’re not alone.”
Laerte (Brazil)
“A moment of celebration, learning, growing.”
“I hope it helps to see how our prejudices many times destroy meaningful possibilities in life.”
Tunalaya Dunn (Thailand)
“It is a day to remind us to move forward collectively.”
“I would like people to feel a sense of unity and realize the impact within themselves.”
Isuri Merenchi Hewage (Sri Lanka)
“It’s a day that makes my heart happy to hear and see women all around the world say ‘we’re women, we’re here, and we’ll keep fighting’.”
“I hope Aarthi’s story inspires women to be brave and fearless; I hope it inspires women to keep on being courageous, and to weather through the rough seas of inequality.”
Karabo Poppy Moletsane (South Africa)
“International Women’s Day to me is a way to celebrate and show gratitude to those who fought for gender equality across the world. And I see the best way to celebrate and thank these history makers is by having women everywhere make the most of the opportunities we have and really explore this unbridled potential we posses. Also not forgetting the countries where gender equality is not embraced and as a collective of people find ways to change this and support those that are fighting for this goal.”
“I hope the take away from my story is; exclusionary rules or stereotypes should never deter someone from doing what they’ve always wanted to do, instead this should act as motivation to pursue their unconventional dream and be the pioneer that opens the door for those with similar dreams to follow suit.”
Tillie Walden (USA)
“IWD, to me, is about noticing and understanding just how vast and rich the definition of womanhood can be. There is no one way, or right way, to be a woman. And I feel like IWD is a celebration of that.”
“I’ve always been at peace with the idea that people will always take only what they want or need from my work, despite what my intentions may be. So I don’t know if there’s anything I’m hoping they’ll take away specifically. What I do hope, though, is that people simply get a chance to take a few minutes away from their own lives to dive into some art.”
Kaveri Gopalakrishnan (India)
“To me personally, this is a day (among others) for the recognition of women and women identifying peoples voices, and acknowledgment of the kind of efforts that have been made for every time I do not consider my gender as a key factor in a personal or professional scenario. There are small moments of celebration, and a lot of gratitude, and a lot more dialogue and conversation in the making and ahead of us. I don’t see it as a day of celebration: rather, it’s a reminder.”
“This is a story about books and building worlds. When I was very young and unsure of my own worth, it was reading that saved me. I didn’t think I had the words to speak out for myself, and so wrote for myself and read other peoples words. Surrounding myself with books (whatever was handy, even labels and instruction manuals) sort of grew me into the person I am today, instead of retreating into a shell (Contrary to the image of a bookworm :) ). I hope to share a story about setting your teeth, building yourself up and growing the wings and means to uplift yourself into a lighter place. There’s a kind of toughness and determination that comes from finding yourself in a story, and then changing the plot. Hope and strength. I hope this comic conveys that feeling, in some, sense. I’d love to hear different interpretations as well of this wordless, slightly abstract tale.”
Anna Haifisch (Germany)
“It’s an important day to raise awareness for all the women of the world. It’s a shame that there’s still so much violence against women. I’m a feminist and I will always fight for equality.”
“I don’t want to teach anybody. This story hopefully works on an emotional level. A thing people hopefully take away from this story is that circumstances can change for the better even though the world might look like a dark and grim place sometimes.”
Estelí Meza (Mexico)
“It is an effort to remember that a lot of inequality between women and men still exists. And the participation of everyone will help to have an egalitarian world.”
“I hope that women who are in this situation feel comforted and people are more sensitive to this reality.”
Saffa Khan (Pakistan/UK)
“IWD is not only to celebrate numerous achievements of women across the fields of science, arts & humanities, but also to recognise the sacrifices & changes made by women as they fight for recognition & equality everyday in a society dominated by men.”
“Being an immigrant, I want people to simply be able to empathise and visualise this small fragment of my most cherished memories of the home I had to leave behind and to understand that the love & support received from strong womanhood can help you accomplish anything.”
Francesca Sanna (Italy/Switzerland)
“To me, the International Women’s Day is an occasion to remember and celebrate all the brave, strong and incredible women who fought for women’s right and gender equality, and to remember how important is to keep doing so. It is also an occasion to celebrate all the connections with the wonderful women who help me in my personal and working life.”
“I think that everyone can read a story in their own personal way, but perhaps the main aspect I wanted to convey with my story is how powerful and at the same time scary and difficult it can be to share one’s own experiences. I always struggled with exposing what i think is my most vulnerable side and sharing it with others. But especially in the past year I fully appreciated the importance of sharing and the power of the connections between people – and between women – that this creates.”
Head over to Google and click on the comic strips to flip through each artist’s story. You’ll be so happy you did.