Vans Custom Culture High School Competition Launches with a Grand Prize of $50,000 to the Winners High School Art Program

News provided by

Jan 12, 2021, 12:00 ET

COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To kick off the new year, Vans invites all public and private high school students to take part in Vans Custom Culture 2021. Vans Custom Culture returns for its twelfth installment with a couple of new themes to match the current times. To reflect the state of the world, this year's new topics are "Hometown Pride" and "Head in the Clouds." Students will have the opportunity to showcase their creativity and artistic abilities by submitting a unique digital shoe design that illustrates this year's themes for a chance to win a grand prize of $50,000 for their high school's art program. Runner ups will receive $15,000 and the top five schools will receive an artist mentorship lesson from one of Vans' art ambassadors: Kelly Breez, Robin Eisenberg, Jay Howell, Todd Francis, Olivia Krause, Camilo Medina, Noah Humes, O.J. Hays, Tony Whlgn, and Sydney James.

Online registration at the Vans Custom Culture website opened on January 4th and will close on January 29^th, 2021. This year's themes of "Hometown Pride" and "Head in the Clouds" look to highlight the special qualities of where each school is located as well as student's visions for the future and their communities. These new themes look to challenge and encourage students to come up with unique and meaningful digital shoe designs that represent their school's culture. Vans has partnered with Yoobi, Americans for the Arts, and Journeys to supply students and schools with resources and scholarship opportunities.

After the digital submission window ends on February 19^th, 250 schools will be asked to submit a physical shoe design that best embodies "Hometown Pride" and "Head in the Clouds." As an added bonus to challenge and encourage students to think critically about the environment, Vans will be offering a $500 gift card for art supplies to the best designs that can be made out of sustainable materials. Vans will also be donating $500 per school to an environmental organization to help promote and encourage investment in sustainability.

Once the top 50 designs are selected, the online voting window will determine the top five finalists. Online voting begins on April 26^th and each school has the opportunity to make it to the finals by encouraging their communities to support them through online voting. The grand-prize winning school will be announced in May via an online livestream event and they will be receiving a $50,000 check for their school's art program.

"The variety of submissions we received in the past continues to reveal the pool of talented artists we have and the need for well-funded art education programs across the country," said Carly Gomez, VP Marketing of Vans the Americas.

To learn more about Vans Custom Culture 2021 and register your school, head to customculture.vans.com and to watch some how-to lessons from Vans art ambassadors head to Vans' YouTube Channel.

About Vans
Vans®, a VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) brand, is the original action sports footwear, apparel and accessories brand. Vans® authentic collections are sold in 97 countries through a network of subsidiaries, distributors and international offices. Vans® has over 2,000 retail locations globally including owned, concession and partnership doors. The Vans® brand promotes creative self-expression in youth culture across action sports, art, music and street culture, and delivers progressive platforms such as the Vans Checkerboard Day, Vans Park Series, Vans Triple Crown of Surfing®, Vans Custom Culture, and Vans' cultural hub and international music venue, House of Vans.

Vans, "Off The Wall" Since '66
www.vans.com
youtube.com/vans
instagram.com/vans
facebook.com/vans
twitter.com/vans_66
Follow Vans Music on Spotify Here!

SOURCE Vans