Grand Valley State University students will have the opportunity to show off their creative talents by entering the 2016 Art2Park design challenge.

Art2Park is a contest which allows all current GVSU students in good standing to submit a design that could potentially be featured on the 2016-17 parking permit.

A student may submit only one design and must include a 1,000 character biography. The winner of the design contest will receive a free parking permit for the 2016-17 fall and winter semesters. Parking permits currently cost $380 for a full-time student for two semesters.

Since GVSU is a permit-only campus, taking part in this contest will be a chance for all participating students to save some money.

“Some students spend hours on applications and essays trying to win a scholarship,” said Lisa Garringer, parking services manager. “Designing the winning parking permit can be achieved in less time than it takes to apply for many scholarships.”

If the winner doesn’t have a car, they do reserve the right to gift the permit to another student in good academic standing, as long as parking services is informed of the exchange.

The student submission will be voted on during a two-part process.

The first round of the contest allows all students, faculty and staff at GVSU to vote.

This voting is done on the GVSU parking website and will narrow down the submissions to the top 10. Throughout the first round, everyone is encouraged to vote for their favorite three.

Once the top 10 have been determined, the second round of voting begins, which consists of all students, faculty and staff being limited to a single vote.

All submissions must be turned in between Feb. 22 and Feb. 29. After the final submission date, round one of voting will occur between March 14 and March 20. Voting for the second round will start on March 22 and end on March 27. The winner will be announced on April 7.

Art2Park was created based on ArtPrize and has continued to be an annual event at GVSU since 2012.

“We are offering the GVSU community the opportunity to have a say in what will be shown on thousands of vehicles across West Michigan,” Garringer said.

Students are encouraged to self-promote the art they create across social media platforms after the submission week, as well as to engage specifically with Art2Park’s Facebook and Twitter pages to showcase their work.

Additionally, by participating in the contest, students are creating a piece of art that they will be able to include in a student portfolio for the years to come.

Whether they win or lose, each student will have the chance to design and promote a piece of their artwork for the community to see.

Permit design and submission guidelines can be found at www.gvsu.edu/parking.