Tamara Shavleyan has always been good at art at school, but now her talents will be viewed by thousands of people around the world.

The eight-year-old has been chosen as the winner of the JC’s competition for under-11s to create a logo to mark the newspaper’s 175th anniversary this year.

From this week her design will be added to the JC masthead for every issue in 2016 and will adorn the paper’s website.

Tamara, a year three pupil at Naima Jewish Preparatory School in west London, came top out of 742 entries from across the community.

She said: “I was on my way to Israel for the holidays when I found out. I was so surprised and happy.”

She was inspired by both the paper and Israel. “I thought about drawing a heart for the logo because the JC might like that. I drew a star on the top of the heart because of the flag of Israel.

“I like it that all the Jewish schools entered the competition and we got to do it in the classroom,” she said.
Tamara’s parents, Tali and Yacov and twin brothers Oriya and Hillel, were delighted at her success.

The family live in St John’s Wood and are members of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Maida Vale.

Mrs Shavleyan said: “We are happy and proud of our daughter’s achievement, especially considering that we have encouraged both her Jewish and Zionist heritage and her artistic expression.”

John Belknap, the JC’s creative director said the response to the challenge of designing the logo had been spectacular. He said: “Hundreds of entries poured through the door, and it wasn’t easy choosing even a shortlist, let alone a winner.

“We saw wonderfully inventive versions of the JC letters, embellished with Magen Davids, chanuciahs, hamsas — and even a few dragons.

“What I was looking for was an idea that was child-like, but not childish. When I pulled Tamara’s entry out of the envelope I knew instantly it was the one.

“Brightly coloured, its cut-out letters looked like a Matisse. I loved the “175” in the middle of a newspaper shape, an excellent creative solution to the challenge.

“The heart behind the letters expresses the mutual affection between our community and our newspaper.

“The whole artwork combined exudes goodwill, and provides us with a perfect logo. Thanks to Tamara and to everyone who entered.”