Voting is now open to select the five top finalists in Vans’ 2011 Custom Culture program. The second annual contest allows high school students nationwide to design their own collection of Vans for the chance to win $50,000 towards their school’s art program, after which, the winning school’s designs will also be available in 2012 at the retail level.

View the 50 semi-finalists shoe designs here (www.vans.com/customculture.)

Vans chose the semi-finalists from a pool of nearly 400 entrants from all 50 states. Vote for your favorite school in each region (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest and California) through 11:59 pm ET, May 2.

Representatives from the top five school will later fly to New York in June to take part in the final exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. There, a judging panel of industry experts will deliberate and select the winning school. This year’s judges include Mister Cartoon, Jordan Buckley, Tony Alva, and fashion expert Nicole Young.

Budget cuts for arts education has become a national epidemic, leading Vans to create an annual contest to inspire kids to enact change in their own communities. In New York alone, schools experienced a decrease of 20.8 percent across their arts budgets from 2009 to 2010, and a 34.4 percent decline in their funds for art supplies and equipment. (NYC Department of Education, 2010, Annual Arts in Schools Report). However, schools nationwide are experiencing significant budget cuts that have already lead to the eradication of arts education entirely.

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