The Allen County Public Library is pleased to announce the winner of its Sneakerhead Art Contest conducted in February in partnership with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The contest was conducted across the entire ACPL system as part of the ACPL’s Black History Month activities. More than 600 participants entered the contest online or by visiting ACPL branches.
Gwen Updegraff, a sixth grader at Woodside Middle School, was named the winner March 14 via a video on the team’s social media pages.
“This was our first ever Sneakerhead Art Contest and we are so happy that so many students learned about Sneakerhead culture and shared their creative designs,” said ACPL Director of Programs and Partnerships Beth Boatright. “Who better than the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to select our winner and spread the word about the wonderful resources at our libraries? Congratulations to both Gwen and all the excellent young designers that shared their sneakers with us.”
Students in grades K through 12 were invited to create their own colorful dream-shoe design and enter to win a prize. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants players acted as judges for the contest and presented a series of videos with Mad Ant players promoting the event on the team’s social media pages. The contest ran through February 28.
“Our players and organization were thrilled to be part of such a unique contest with a diverse collection of entries. They had a lot of fun judging and going through so many creative designs,” said Dan Vance, Director of Public Relations and Social Media for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. “Being involved with ACPL through this contest has been a rewarding crossover experience, including over 11,000 video views on our social media platforms as players promoted the contest and shared their favorite shoe to play in.”