In 2013, Dion Walcott the founder of MARTK’D create the platform as an event series that brought artists together to socialize with the goal of building a creative community. Within six months of launching MARTK’D, Dion quickly realized that there was a major need to create outlets for artists to showcase their talents publicly. With the spirit of providing access to education for creative communities, Dion approached OCAD University to host an “Art on Sneakers” competition as a recruitment and community engagement program, which turned into major partnership relationships from other top-tier universities, school boards and brands.