As ArtPop kicks off its fifth year, the billboard competition’s two Pennsylvania programs have joined together to strengthen and expand the popular public art initiative, opening the competition to an 11-county region and adding in a $500 cash scholarship for the winner of the ArtPop high school competition.

In addition, Kutztown University is offering a $2,500 scholarship if the winning high school student enrolls in a Kutztown University degree program.

Entries for the annual competition, which features works shown on Adams Outdoor Advertising billboards throughout the region, will be accepted now through Nov. 9.

Launched in 2014, ArtPop is a public art initiative that showcases the work of area artists on Adams billboards for an entire year.

For the past several years, Adams has partnered with the ArtPop Street Gallery, Pocono Arts Council and ArtsQuest’s Banana Factory Arts Center to offer two different ArtPop competitions — one in the Poconos and another in the Lehigh Valley.

Starting this year, all of the partners will join together for “ArtPop Eastern Pennsylvania,” open to artists from suburban Philadelphia to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region.

Artists are invited to submit works of art to be considered for one of 12 Adams billboards throughout the region.

Eleven artists, including the high school competition winner, are selected by the official ArtPop jurying committee, while the final winner is chosen via a public vote.

The 2019 ArtPop competition is open to artists residing in Berks, Bucks, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Pike and Wayne counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Warren County in New Jersey.

All winners, with the exception of the People’s Choice Winner, will be selected by the ArtPop jurying panel in early November. From Nov. 13-16, the public can vote online at www.bananafactory.org/artpop for its favorite work for the People’s Choice Winner.

All winners will then be announced at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Stroudsmoor Country Inn in Stroudsburg.

Artists interested in participating in the competition should submit a digital image of their two-dimensional or three-dimensional work online at www.bananafactory.org/artpop.

Artists must provide their name, complete address, email address, title and mediums of the original work of art and a one-paragraph biography.

Cost to enter the competition is $20 for adults and $10 for high school students; complete information on the dimensions and technical specifications are available on the website.

For complete information, visit www.bananafactory.org/artpop or like/follow ArtPop on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.