Senior Advanced Art student Maria Ntaflou was recently chosen to participate in the Vans Custom Culture competition in hopes of winning the $50,000 prize to support the Falcon Art Education budget.

Out of 250 slots available nationwide, Ntaflou’s drawn entry was chosen to showcase her design on a real pair of Vans that are sent to each school with a winning submission. Once Ntaflou receives her Vans, the design is transformed from a paper drawing onto the shoes. 

Art teacher Jessica Van Veenhuyzen and Ntaflou will then send the completed product back into the competition by Friday, April 16. Ten days later the top 50 contestants will be chosen and sent to the final competition where a public vote will take place from Monday, April 26 – Friday, May 7, that will  determine the five runners up, as well as the overall winner. 

According to Van Veenhuyzen, the Art Education budgets continue to decrease nationwide, and the Vans Custom Culture competition is an outlet for students to not only express their creativity through Art, but to earn much deserved recognition and a monetary prize and for the school’s Art program.