Collaboration of Visual Arts, Music, and Fashion Brands: 'TRACK'
'ToyCon Seoul 2025' Held Simultaneously... Korea's Only Global Designer Toy Fair
'AI Artist Awards' Debut... Inviting AI Artists from Around the World
'Urban Break 2025,' a global art festival centered on artists and transcending the boundaries of urban and street art, will be held at COEX in Seoul from August 7 to August 10.
This year's event, under the slogan 'Play with Artist,' is designed as an on-site experience where visitors can directly engage with and experience the artists' worldviews, lifestyles, and creative activities. Over the course of four days, Urban Break will curate a program featuring more than 300 artists from 15 countries, focusing on visual arts, K-POP, street fashion, designer toys, AI and tech, DJing, live performances, and food art classes. Limited edition art goods will also be available.
Key participating artists include Emans, a street artist from Italy; Miwud, an actor and pop culture artist known for experimental expansions of art toys and characters; and Bokuno, a pop-up exhibition artist recognized for experimental conceptual aesthetics.
Additionally, 100 visual artists will join Urban Break, including Islo, who has established a unique personal style through collaborations with brands such as Musinsa and Knotted Donut, and Grimby Studio, a leader in K-illustration trends that has worked with various companies and brands.
Collaboration Between Visual Arts, Music, and Fashion Brands: 'TRACK'
This year, Urban Break will debut 'TRACK,' a special stage program where visual arts and music intersect. The event has selected 'Standard Friends,' a creative label led by Zion.T, as this year's featured musicians. Zion.T, Giriboy, Wonstein, Slom & Sumin, and Sokodomo will present live performances and share behind-the-scenes stories of their creative processes. In addition, Zion.T, Giriboy, Slom, and Wonstein will reveal the four-day festival playlist in the second week of July. The third-anniversary exhibition 'We are Friends' is also planned.
Collaborations between domestic and international fashion brands and visual artists will take place at Urban Break. United Workers, launched by Jang Woo-hyuk, a former member of HOT, along with notable street fashion brands such as Ulkin, UTA Seoul, Yugadang, and Evid, will present unique collaborative clothing collections with five leading Minhwa (Korean folk painting) artists.
'ToyCon Seoul 2025' Held Simultaneously... Korea's Only Global Designer Toy Fair
This year, 'ToyCon Seoul 2025' will be held concurrently. 'ToyCon Seoul' is Korea's only global designer toy fair, planned and organized directly by Urban Break. As a new challenge targeting major international events such as DesignerCon (USA) and TT (Taiwan), it will feature participation from over 100 teams of artists and designer toy brands from 10 countries.
This year's ToyCon Seoul will welcome leading global art toy companies and artists such as POP MART, Coolrain, TUDTOY, IMMA, Gwen, HEYONE, and Kaori. The event will include limited edition goods drop events, a toy customization experience zone, and artist talks.
'AI Artist Awards' Debut... Inviting AI Artists from Around the World
The AI Artist Awards (AIAA), featuring AI (artificial intelligence) creators from around the world, will launch this year. Under the philosophy 'We believe in human creativity,' the awards will spotlight AI artists who use AI as a tool to create emotionally resonant and narrative-driven works. August 8 will be designated as 'AI Artist Day,' and as part of the related events, a K-POP-based video content contest, 'AI ARTIST AWARDS,' with a total prize pool of 20 million won, will be held.
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