Vashti Harrison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vashti Harrison
|
|
|---|---|
Harrison at the 2023 Texas Book Festival
|
|
| Born | 1988 |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia (BA) California Institute of the Arts (MFA) |
| Known for | Illustration |
| Awards | Caldecott Medal (2024) |
Vashti Harrison (born 1988) is an American writer, illustrator, and filmmaker. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her book, Big, won the 2024 Randolph Caldecott Medal. Vashti was born in Virginia. Her creative works, including films and illustrations, are inspired by her Caribbean family background and old stories.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Vashti Harrison was born in 1988. Her father is African American, and her mother is Indian from Trinidad and Tobago. As a student, she was part of a special program for talented and gifted kids. Her teacher described her as "quiet and polite."
She studied at the University of Virginia. In 2010, she earned a degree in Media Studies and Studio Art. She focused on film and cinematography. Later, she went to California Institute of Arts. There, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film and Video in 2014. She even took classes from Disney and DreamWorks Animation.
Creative Career
Making Films
Vashti Harrison's films are unique and often explore her Caribbean heritage and folk tales. Her movies have been shown at big film festivals. These include the New York Film Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. When she speaks publicly, she often gives advice to young artists.
- Field Notes (2014) is a visual guide to the spiritual culture of Trinidad and Tobago. In this film, Harrison shares her own stories. She talks about shape-shifters and bloodsuckers. She also includes tales of ghosts from the islands' past. In 2014, this film won Best Local Short Film at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
- Sixteen (2015) tells the story of Harrison's mother growing up. It shows her journey from a tough childhood to a beautiful adult life. This film first showed at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2015.
- Forged from the Love of Liberty (2016) is a poem about old curses and beliefs. Its name comes from the national song of Trinidad and Tobago.
- Harrison also worked on Hair Love (2019). This animated short film celebrates the loving bond between a Black father and his daughter. It focuses on the beauty of Black hair. The film raised a lot of money through crowdfunding. Hair Love won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Vashti Harrison also illustrated a children's book based on this film.
Illustrating Books
Vashti Harrison started her art career using Instagram. This led to her first art jobs. She even met people from Apple and did live drawings on iPads. After moving back to Trinidad and Tobago, she felt inspired to create children's picture books.
In 2016, Harrison attended a conference for children's book writers and illustrators. She won a drawing competition there. This helped her art get noticed by many publishers. Just two months later, she found an agent. This was the start of her successful career in illustrating and writing.
Harrison has illustrated several books for other authors. She illustrated Festival of Colours by Surishtha and Kabir Sehgal in 2018. Her art also appears in Cece Loves Science. Her illustrations for the book Sulwe won an NAACP Image Award in 2020. In 2024, her own book, Big, won the famous Randolph Caldecott Medal. She both wrote and illustrated Big.
Little Leaders Series
The Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History is a very popular book. It shares the stories of 40 important African-American women. These women helped shape history. Vashti Harrison said she was inspired to create this book during Black History Month. She wanted to draw and write about amazing Black women from American history.
The book was published by LittleBrown Books. It came out in the US in 2017 and in the UK in 2018. The book includes stories about famous people like Mae Jemison, Katherine Johnson, Maya Angelou, and Alice Bell. Before it was even released, it was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. In January 2018, Vashti Harrison appeared on The Daily Show to talk about her Little Leaders book.
