Vans Custom Culture registration opened to all U.S.-based high school art programs on February 1, accepting the first 1,000 registrant schools into this year’s competition. Vans Custom Culture encourages students to express their personal creativity through customizing four favorite Vans canvas styles: the Authentic, 106 Vulcanized, Sk8-Hi and Classic Slip-On. Registration is open through March 1 so get your schools involved.
Vans Custom Culture registration opened to all U.S.-based high school art programs on February 1, accepting the first 1,000 registrant schools into this year’s competition. Vans Custom Culture encourages students to express their personal creativity through customizing four favorite Vans canvas styles: the Authentic, 106 Vulcanized, Sk8-Hi and Classic Slip-On. Registration is open through March 1 so get your schools involved.
Students are charged with designing each pair of shoes to fit within one of three themes representing the Vans lifestyle including action sports, art and music and then also a fourth theme “local flavor” reflecting regional inspiration. Schools will be narrowed initially by an internal Vans team and then in later stages by public voting, through the Vans Custom Culture website. The top five schools will showcase their designs at the Vans Custom Culture final event held in Los Angeles in May 2012.
Entering its third year in 2012, Vans Custom Culture has inspired tens of thousands of students at more than 700 participating schools over the past two years with last year’s contest culminating in Vans awarding $50,000 toward the art programs at Ward Melville High School (Long Island, NY). Melville was one of five schools that earned trips to New York City as chosen by more than 180,000 online voters. Students at Rio Rancho High School (Rio Rancho, NM) won the grand prize in 2010.
For more information, visit Vans Custom Culture platforms Vans.com/customculture and Facebook.com/vanscustomculture.
Check out the video Vans made in conjunction with Custom Culture here.
Recently designed to inspire kids nationwide, Seattle-based artist Louie Gong customized these new pair of slip ons.
Gong, a Native of mixed heritage (Nooksack, Squamish, Chinese, French, Scottish), was raised by his grandparents, father, and step-mom both in Ruskin, B.C. and in the Nooksack tribal community. He was totally overwhelmed by recent media recognition of his artwork (see Press) and activism (see Press) on behalf of people who walk in multiple worlds. “UNRESERVED: the work of Louie Gong,” a short film that documents Louie’s unique style of merging art and activism is currently screening at prestigious film festivals around the world, including Festival De Cannes and National Geographic’s All Roads Film Festival.