HeLa cells take the prize: BHM art competition winner announced!

28 Feb 2024

We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Black History Month 2024 art competition is Cultured HeLa cells, submitted by Jeanne Pawitan!

Cultured HeLa cells

Jeanne Pawitan, Universitas Indonesia (Depok, Indonesia)

This mixed-media artwork uses pen and watercolor pencil to depict cultured HeLa cells, the oldest immortalized cell line.

Aligned with the theme of Black History Month 2024, ‘African Americans and the Arts’, we hosted a scientific art competition to honor and commemorate the impacts that Black people have had on scientific advancements. We received numerous submissions highlighting the influence of Black people on multiple fields, including ophthalmology, engineering and planetary geophysics.

The winning image commemorates someone who was not a scientist but whose cells have made an immense contribution to science and medical research. Read about Henrietta Lacks’ story and the impact of HeLa cells on our sister site, BioTechniques.