Art students at Indio High School are finalists in the Vans High School Custom Culture competition based on their custom designs of Vans skate shoes.
Six students of Indio art teacher Jennifer Ireland have been working weekends together to come up with designs inspired by nature and music festivals.
“To see students who can conceptualize on this level is pretty incredible,” Ireland said of the finalists during an interview with Desert Sun.
According to a Desert Sun article, the Indio high schoolers’ designs have been picked along with 50 other designs as finalists in the Vans High School Custom Culture competition. The winner will be chosen by public vote. The top high school will receive $50,000, while several other runner-ups will get $15,000.
In the article, Ireland said that winning the competition would boost the art program with new digital equipment, field trips and scholarships for art students. According to Ireland, “We have students accepted into premier art schools, but they can’t afford to go.”
The students created their designs around the themes of the Vans competition, which are hometown pride and the four pillars of Vans: action sports, art, music and street culture, Desert Sun reports. The students have compiled four separate designs, one corresponding to each of the pillars. One of the designs features the “Colossal Cacti”, which had previously decorated the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and now adorns the city of Indio. Another design depicts a hot air balloon. The designs also incorporate the school’s colors, red and blue, and feature delicate sunsets. Visible from Ireland’s classroom, the San Jacinto Mountains also greatly inspired the designs.
Additionally, Ireland discussed how the competition resonates with her because it allows artistic kids to express themselves, providing an outlet for introverted behavior as she herself was a shy teen. As such, she has worked to create a sort of sanctuary in her classroom where students can feel comfortable being themselves. She and several of the students involved in the competition discussed the creation process, and according to them, they had to restart their designs several times but got there in the end.
Fans of the designs can continue to cast their votes until 5 p.m. PST on May 6.
