Art/Wear Sneaker Battle

Anwar Kush (aka KUSH or Cushnie)
Born in Kingston, Jamaica and trained at both Sheridan College and PLC Detroit , designer and artist Anwar Kush blends digital expertise with a traditional background in tattooing, illustration, and graphic design. His work navigates a broad scope of influences including surrealism, comic, pop art, and realism that result in a complex yet simplistic digital style inspired by themes of cultural and historical moments expressed with newfound flexibility.

Erika Flores
Erika is a multi-media Toronto artist who uses diverse mediums such as digital illustration, acrylic glass paintings, and engravings, often creatively telling stories through a unique blend of poetry and video. She is best known for her work in illustration for brands such as Nike, WNBA, NBA, Microsoft, and PWHL Toronto Sceptres.

EGR
EGR is an award-winning contemporary visual artist whose work challenges perceptions of public art and graffiti, portraying the dichotomy between nature and the industrialized world. EGR is well-known for her murals and live painting performances at international events, as she creates stunning large-scale pieces on a variety of surfaces that combine artistic flair and skill with a deep love of music, nature, and urban culture. Her work was included in Canada’s first national exhibition of street art at a major Canadian museum, the Royal Ontario Museum; in the Art Gallery of Ontario; in the McMichael Canadian Art Collection; and in galleries and collections worldwide.

Elize Stolk
Earth to Elize is a Toronto-based ‘Alien Artist’ with a multi-media practice that blurs the line between our universe and one entirely their own. While much of Elize’s current work exists as digital illustration or small-scale sculpture, they often dive head-first into projects that utilize entirely new skill sets – preferring to work with whatever materials best communicate the unique vision of a piece. Elize’s most notable projects of 2024 include the children’s storybook “I Love You to the Earth & Back” which Elize wrote illustrated and published themselves, the public installation “Deeply Rooted” developed for Toronto Pride 2024, and their hand-painted leather clothing line “Space Cadet” launched in partnership with local art-clothing boutique ‘WNDRLND’. Through bold colour, flowing shapes and whimsical creatures, Earth to Elize’s work invites us to not only embrace the unusual, but to weave it into our own stories with intention and curiosity as we challenge this thing we call “normal”.

Marvin Mariano
Marvin has worked with an impressive list of clients including Hasbro, Mattel, Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Dreamworks LLC., 20th Century Fox, National Geographic, Lucasfilm, and Lucas Licensing. His work can been seen on popular shows such as Transformers: Beast Machines, the G.I. Joe: Spy Troops movie, Season 3 of Doc starring Billy Ray Cyrus, and Carl2 for Teletoon. Marvin is also a professional Tattoo artist specializing in Realism, Cover-Ups, Portraits and unique custom works.

Rechie Modes
Chie Modes is a Filipino artist and full time tattooist based in Toronto. Modes works with different styles and mediums from acrylic, oil paints, watercolour, coffee, and sometimes wood burning and murals. Modes works in a private studio and loves how art connects people in different ways, creating meaningful relationships.