From Ms. Sarmiento, Art Teacher:

“Some of my 3D2 and AP 3D students just completed our entries for the Vans Custom Culture competition […]Vans sent us 4 pairs of sneakers to customize according to the themes of art, music, action sports, and local flavor. Over 900 high schools are competing nationwide […] The top ten entries in each region will be selected and notified by April 20th. The regional winner will be decided through Internet voting, so we will need to generate as many votes as possible. Each regional winner (teacher and students) will be flown to Los Angeles for the final event. The shoes will be exhibited in a museum, and each regional winner will be awarded $4,000 for their art program and the grand prize winner is awarded $50,000 for their art program! […] We are keeping our fingers crossed! The students are extremely excited! I think we have a very good chance of advancing.”

For photos of the shoes, scroll down!

Please visit vans.com/customculture for more information. We’ll keep you updated as the competition progresses!