Ready, Set, VOTE! - Vans Opens Public Voting for the 8th Annual Custom Culture Design Competition

CYPRESS, Calif., April 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vans, in partnership with LCAD (Laguna College of Art + Design), Americans for the Arts, Blick Art Materials and Journeys, is excited to share the top 50 semi-finalists for the Vans Custom Culture high school art competition. Through May 10, everyone nationwide can support arts education by visiting Vans.com/CustomCulture to vote for their favorite designs and determine the five finalists who will compete to win $50,000 for their high school art program.

"Inspiration and creativity is the foundation of Custom Culture and continues Vans' ethos of enabling creative expression," said Megan Klempa, Vans Custom Culture program manager. "The concepts behind these designs are a testament to the innovative mindset of the hundreds of students that participate in the program. Custom Culture gives these young creatives a platform to showcase their talent nationwide, while calling attention to the much needed funding for arts education."

The public vote will determine the five finalists who will have the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles on an all-expenses paid trip, where their designs will be judged by a panel of notable judges. The grand-prize winners of the $50,000 grant will be announced at the final event on June 7. Each of the four runner-ups will receive $4,000, all going towards funding their high school's art programs. 

Vans Custom Culture was created to inspire youth creativity through art and design, while calling attention to the country's diminishing art programs due to tight education budgets. This year, 3,000 schools across the nation registered to compete. As part of the competition, each participating school created four custom designs on blank Vans shoes to embody the Vans "Off The Wall" lifestyle: action sports, music, art and local flavor. From there, Vans employees and an internal judging panel selected the top 50 schools. Now, it is up to the public to help determine the top five finalists (listed by region below).

New for 2017, Vans Custom Culture will also welcome a winner of the 'Technology in Design' award. To honor Vans deep roots in custom design, competing schools were asked to design a pattern utilizing the Vans Customs platform. This component will be judged separately from the overall submission, granting the winning school $5,000 towards its art program and shoes featuring the school's customized print. The winner will be announced on Friday, May 5 on vans.com/customs and their pattern will be available online at Vans Customs designs.

For more information or to vote for the five finalists, visit the Custom Culture website at customculture.vans.com.

Top 50 Schools Competing for Spot in Final Five Via Public Online Vote:

California Region: Bonita High School, C.K. McClatchy High School, Irvington High School, Pomona Catholic Girls High School, Preuss High School, Rubidoux High School, San Pasqual High School, Sherman Indian High School, Whitney High School and Will C. Wood High School.

Southwest Region: Alameda School of Art + Design, Bel Air High School, Cactus High School, Crandall High School, Foothill High School, Friendswood High School, Las Vegas High School, Paradise Valley High School, Perry High School and Regent Preparatory School of Oklahoma.

Southeast Region: Bryant High School, Cane Bay High School, Fontainebleau High School, Great Bridge High School, Houston County High School, Liberty High School, McCracken County High School, Mount Airy High School, South Pointe High School and Station Camp High School.

Northwest Region: Bellevue East High School, Burlington Community High School, Central Valley High School, Hazen High School, Lennox High School, Lincoln Southeast High School, Newberg High School, Northfield High School, Parker High School and Sandy High School.

Northeast Region: Catoctin High School, Franklin Heights High School, High Tech High School, Howell High School, Lynbrook High School, Middletown High School South, Notre Dame Academy, Oliver Ames High School, Passaic County Technical Institute and Ridley High School.

About Vans
Vans^®, a VF Corporation VFC brand, is the original action sports footwear, apparel and accessories brand. Vans authentic collections are sold globally in more than 75 countries through a network of subsidiaries, distributors and international offices. Vans also owns and operates nearly 600 retail locations around the world. The Vans brand promotes the action sports lifestyle, youth culture and creative self-expression through the support of athletes, musicians and artists and through progressive events and platforms such as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing^®, the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, Vans Pool Party, Vans Custom Culture, Vans Warped Tour^®, and Vans' cultural hub and international music venue, the House of Vans.

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SOURCE Vans