Photo: Ane Jens/Vans
Custom Culture winners, Rio Rancho High School of
New MexicoOn May 15th, Vans took over the Orange County Museum of Art for the Custom Culture finale. This first annual art competition encouraged high school students from across the country to submit custom designs on iconic Vans kicks, including the Chukka Low, Vans Era, Authentic and Skate Hi models. The grand prize? A hefty $10,000 donation to the winning school's art program.

Photo: Danny Spyra
Rio Rancho's winning submissions

"In a time when schools are faced with shrinking budgets, art education is often a discipline that is overlooked," said Doug Palladini, Vans Vice President of Marketing. "Vans has always supported creative expression and we hope the Custom Culture program will inspire young art students and draw attention to high school art programs nationwide."

After fielding entries from 330 schools across the U.S., Vans held an online vote to narrow down the contest to 4 schools in 4 regions. The four finalists included Franklin Pierce High School of Tacoma Washington, Plainview-Old Bethpage/JFK High School of Plainview, New York, Eastern High School of Lousiville, Kentucky and Rio Rancho High School from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Photo: Ane Jens/Vans
All-star panel of judges

Vans flew each school to California, where they enjoyed a tour of the company's headquarters and a trip to Disneyland, culminating in the final results party on Saturday, May 15th. An all-star judging panel, consisting of skate legend Tony Alva, music icon Keith Morris, actress Nikki Reed of Twilight fame, artist P-Nut, and Kristina Dechter, Editor in Chief of FOAM Magazine, chose Rio Rancho High School as the ultimate winners.

Photo: Ane Jens/Vans
Vans President Kevin Bailey expressed how proud they
were of the final submissions

Vans President Kevin Bailey gave a heartfelt speech, saying to the students: "You inspire us, we draw inspiration and creativity from all different aspects of it, and you guys participate in that whether it be art, music, action sports, or street and fashion. Those are things that inspire us, and we're really proud to have you guys a part of our inspiration."

Congrats to Rio Rancho High School for designing some truly unique kicks and Vans for marrying shoes with art in the first annual Custom Culture Contest.

Full photo gallery here: http://www.bnqt.com/photos/album/Vans-Custom-Culture-Contest/343.html

- Danny Spyra

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