*Assembly Required: Designer Art Toy Expo

*ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Designer Art Toy Expo

Philadelphia

@

23rd Street Armory

22 S 23rd St,

Philadelphia, PA 19103

August 9-10, 2025 

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Are you a designer, bootleg or art toy maker? Is your work eclectic &/or retro, complimenting the art toy subculture? If yes, then you are exactly where you need to be...

The *Assembly Required designer art toy expo is a two-day in person event, that gives independent artists a much needed platform to represent and sell their work to collectors, and artists alike.

If you are interested in participating in an echo chamber of inspiration, and surrounding yourself with your people, please complete the application below for our BRAND NEW PHILADELPHIA event.

This is a curated event and to stay true to our focus and theme, please submit examples of your work to determine eligibility.

Credit Cards are NOT charged upon applying. 

Credit Cards are ONLY charged as a registration fee

if you are approved to participate. 

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Everything has to be in order.

Everyone’s signed?

Yes.

Good.

On we go!

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Seven years ago... in a state far, far away...

 On February 16 & 17, 2019, the *Assembly Required designer art toy expo premiered in Asheville, NC, in an attempt to shine a spotlight on the South East art toy community that wasn't being represented.   

 Bringing together some of the most talented designer, bootleg and art toy makers in today’s artistic movement, *Assembly Required was excitedly embraced by artists and collectors alike and immediately marked its place as the largest event of it's kind in the US, dedicated exclusively to the independent artists in the art toy community.    

As the adopted home town of the organizers, Asheville was selected as the destination of the event because there was a shared sensibility between the pop/deviant art culture of the movement, and Asheville’s culture.

Having lived in Asheville for 16yrs, organizers learned something of the ingredients that might comprise the recipe of a successful second location. Another city that also had a similar shared sensibility with the art toy community: 

Philadelphia.  

In a previous life, preceding that move to Asheville, organizers had lived in Philadelphia for 16 years. Invested in a decade and a half with existing, first hand, working knowledge of the city. 

So giving *Assembly Required a second home in Philadelphia was a way that organizers could say 'thank you' to a city that gave them some of the best years and memories of their life.

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So why Philadelphia? 

“In the ever-evolving landscape of American cities, Philadelphia has carved out a prominent niche as a hub of arts and culture”, its “collaborative spirit has fueled its artistic renaissance”. In 2025, USA Today voted Philly “Best City in America for Street Art”, for a second time! For more than four decades, the city has been known as the "Mural Capital of the World," mainly thanks to Mural Arts Philadelphia, which is behind more than 4,000 of the city's murals. “This win — along with Philly’s other recent USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award for the Most Walkable City in America — joins the city’s growing list of recent awards [and] accolades [...]. In the past year alone [Philly] has been named a top travel destination by Tripadvisor, one of the 50 best cities in the world by Time Out, and one of the nation’s best food cities by Condé Nast Traveler.” 

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SHARING BOOTH SPACE

Please remember that this is a curated event. 

All artists must be approved.

If you want to share a space with another artist, please add their name & email address to the field requesting it below. They will be sent an application form as well. 

If you are considering sharing your table and decide at a later date to do so, please let us know ASAP, as an additional review of your guests' work will need to occur to confirm their eligibility for the show. 

Deviation from this policy will impact eligibility in future *Assembly Required events.  

Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions about this or anything else at UnboxingAsheville@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram at @_AssemblyRequired_ .