COSTA MESA, Calif.,
Jan. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Vans invites high school art students nationwide to
participate in the ninth year of Vans Custom Culture, an art
competition built to inspire creativity and show support for art
programs in schools. Vans Custom Culture was created to empower
high school students to embrace their originality through art and
design, as well as encourage students to pursue a career in the
arts. The 2018 competition refocuses that commitment through an
updated format that increases financial support for the finalists
and opens a pathway to amplify resources for even more creative
futures.
"Vans has put almost $900,000
directly into art education programs for schools across the
nation," shares Megan Klempa, Custom
Culture Program Manager. "As we began planning for 2018, the brand
took a step back to evaluate how we could make more of an impact
and ensure we were reaching schools who need the most support."
Those discussions led to a new approach in which Vans will
select 500 U.S. public and private high schools that register to
participate in the program. The qualifying schools who will be
considered will include those that have had their arts programing
cut. "By completing an impact document along with the submission,
Vans will be able to focus and target schools who haven't been able
to support an education that enables creativity," Klempa
expands.
Additionally, Vans will work with Kindah
Khalidy, a California-based
painter and textile designer to help reimagine Vans Custom Culture
through her work. Khalidy embodies Vans' "Off The Wall" ethos
through her craftsmanship that's unique, original and inventive.
"I'm thrilled to be part of the Vans family and support youth
creativity," said Khalidy. "I love that Vans is using Custom
Culture to show the importance of creativity and self-expression."
Through Khalidy's partnership, Vans hopes to show participating
students that a career in the arts is achievable.
Starting today and running through January 31 at 5 p.m.
PT, high school teachers and administrators can register
their schools at the Vans Custom Culture website to enter the
competition and have a chance to win the $75,000 towards their school's art program. Vans
has partnered with Yoobi who will provide boxes of basic art
materials to the 500 participating schools. After customizing two
pairs of blank Vans with two selected themes and submitting their
impact document, Vans will select the top 50 participants. Then
each school, their community and the public vote on the Vans Custom
Culture website from April 23 –
May 4 to determine the top five
finalists. Vans and its partners, Americans for the Arts and
Journeys, will celebrate the grand prize winner with a surprise,
celebration event, gifting the school the winning funds and custom
codes for the design team. The four runner-up schools will each be
awarded $10,000 and a limited-edition
Vans gift.
"The quality of the design, creativity, and
effort that goes into each pair of shoes these
students create never seizes to amaze me," said Mitch Whitaker, General Manager of Vans North
America. "We're proud to bring back Vans Custom Culture in a new
way and we're excited to award even more funding to schools in
need. Vans Custom Culture taps into the core of what Vans stands
for: encouraging youth creativity and enabling self-expression
through art."
For information and registration guidelines visit Vans Custom
Culture at customculture.vans.com and watch this Vans Custom
Culture 2018 teaser on YouTube.
About Vans
Vans®, a VF
Corporation (NYSE: VFC) brand, is the original action sports
footwear, apparel and accessories brand. Vans authentic
collections are sold globally in 84 countries through a network of
subsidiaries, distributors and international offices. Vans
also owns and operates more than 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 Park Series, 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, House of Vans.
Vans, "Off The Wall" Since '66
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