The annual ArtPop Artist Billboard Competition is expanding its reach for the 2017 event by including Berks, Bucks and Montgomery counties.

ArtsQuest officials announced the news Tuesday.

Additionally, the winner of the ArtPop High School Competition will receive a partial scholarship to an art program at Kutztown University and will have their piece featured on a billboard for the entire 2017 year, according to the news release. The high school version of ArtPop is open to students in ninth through 12th grades.

The top 10 student submissions will be showcased in an exhibition at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, starting Jan. 14 and running through March 12.

The ArtPop Artist Billboard Competition spotlights seven greater Lehigh Valley artists by displaying their winning works on area billboards. The event -- a partnership between ArtsQuest and Adams Outdoor Advertising -- was launched in 2014.

Jurors for the 2017 competition included representatives from ArtsQuest, Adams Outdoor Advertising, James A. Michener Museum, Kutztown University, Penn State Lehigh Valley and Easton's Connexions Gallery.

The deadline for artists submissions is Dec. 7. A public vote will be held Dec. 8-14 to determine the People's Choice recipient. The ArtPop winners will be announced Dec. 20.

Interested artists can submit a digital image of their two- or three-dimensional work through bananafactory.org/artpop. All entries must be submitted as a 24.333-inch-by-6.333-inch jpg at 330 dpi.