D'FESTA: The Origin Brings 48 K-Pop Artists Into a Seoul Art Exhibition

48 Artists, 30 Sets and a Different View of K-Pop

Portraits measuring eight meters wide, drawings made by K-pop stars and a collective artwork involving 48 artists will anchor D'FESTA: The Origin at MPX Gallery in Seoul. The exhibition is scheduled to run from October 23 through November 30, 2026, on Level 3 of IFC Mall in Yeouido, bringing G-Dragon, BTS, Stray Kids and six other acts into a project built around photography, video, fashion and visual art.

Approximately four months of production and more than 30 large sets went into capturing the participants. The central theme is origin: the dreams and passion the artists held when they began. Visitors will encounter both carefully directed images and more personal material, including handwritten letters and pictures drawn by the artists themselves.

The nine participating acts are G-Dragon, BTS, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, aespa, ENHYPEN, IVE, RIIZE and CORTIS. Together, they account for the announced total of 48 artists. G-Dragon participates as a solo artist alongside the eight groups.

The official NOL Ticket listing confirms the Seoul run as October 23 through November 30, 2026. That calendar detail matters for travel planning, particularly because the announced international tour is described as beginning the following January. Reservations and updated exhibition information are available through NOL Ticket.

What Does Origin Mean Here?

D'FESTA places the artists' early ambitions at the center of its concept, then uses several visual formats to explore their identities. Music and performance remain the starting point, but photographs, moving images, clothing and artwork carry the exhibition's stories.

The organizers describe the project as an attempt to present familiar performers through a different artistic format. In a statement explaining the preparation behind the exhibition, the D'FESTA organizing team said:

We have put a lot of time and effort into presenting the most brilliant moments of K-pop in a new artistic format.

The named sections move between large public images and smaller personal gestures. Monumental portraits and a shared installation give the project its scale, while drawings, letters and recorded messages bring attention back to individual participants. That combination gives visitors several ways to engage with artists they may usually encounter through songs, music videos and stage performances.

Nine Acts Told Through 18 Stories

THE NINEFOLD presents the nine participating acts through 18 stories. Each act was photographed using different sets and direction, with the aim of capturing expressions and movements that audiences would not normally see on stage.

The production figures help explain how this section was assembled. More than 30 large sets were created across roughly four months, allowing the project to build distinct settings rather than place every participant against the same background. The sets are part of the image making process behind the exhibition.

Eighteen stories across nine acts works out to an average of two stories per act, although the announced description does not explain how those stories are distributed. Visitors can expect a series of separate visual treatments rather than a single group portrait repeated across the lineup.

The full floor plan, the arrangement of every installation and the detailed content of each story have yet to be laid out publicly. The named sections nevertheless establish the exhibition's main components: directed photography, large portraits, collective work, individual drawings, messages and visitor participation.

Black and White Portraits on a Monumental Scale

HUES OF BLACK features portraits measuring eight meters across and four meters high. Those dimensions give each image a surface area of 32 square meters, making the face and gaze of a performer a substantial presence in the gallery.

The portraits remove bright color and concentrate on each artist's expression and individual atmosphere. Black and white photography puts more attention on light, shadow and contrast, the difference between the darkest and brightest parts of an image.

That approach creates a different visual emphasis from the varied sets of THE NINEFOLD. One section builds identities through settings and direction; the other reduces the color palette and enlarges the individual portrait. Visitors will be able to compare how the same exhibition uses both elaborate staging and a more restricted visual language.

A Collective Work Built Around Movement

KANON NO. 48 is the exhibition's centerpiece, a large work completed through the participation of all 48 artists. Its creation involved the artists walking across a monumental structure, bringing their different movements and rhythms into one visual record of contemporary K-pop.

The number in the title connects directly to the participant count. Where THE NINEFOLD organizes the exhibition around separate acts and HUES OF BLACK focuses on individual faces, KANON NO. 48 gathers the entire project into a shared work.

The organizers have singled out its scale as a defining feature. The announced description centers on walking, rhythm and movement, extending the exhibition's interest in performance beyond a conventional stage setting.

For visitors, this provides a point of connection between the other displays. The project moves from distinct group identities to individual portraits, then brings its participants together through a common artistic action.

Drawings and Letters Bring the Focus Closer

THE SQUEEZE features drawings made by the artists themselves. Here, the participants contribute images of their own rather than appearing only as the subjects of photographs or video.

LETTERS contains handwritten notes and video messages addressed to fans. Handwriting offers a different kind of encounter from a portrait: visitors can see the physical form of a message as well as read its words. Video adds the artists' voices and delivery.

These sections give the exhibition a more personal register alongside its large installations. A portrait eight meters wide and a handwritten letter work at very different scales, but both direct attention to the person behind a familiar stage identity.

The drawings and messages also broaden what participation means in the project. Across the exhibition, artists appear in directed scenes, contribute movement to a collective work and create material intended to be viewed or read by fans.

What Visitors Can Do and Take Home

THE ENCOUNTER is the exhibition's interactive program. Visitors can hear the artists' voices and take commemorative photographs through the exhibition experience. The program places audience participation alongside the photographs, videos and artworks on display.

An admission kit is also included. Its announced contents are photo tickets, stickers and a leaflet, giving visitors printed items to keep after their visit.

The combination of audio, photographs and printed material makes this part of the exhibition especially relevant to fans who collect images and memorabilia. It also gives visitors a different activity between sections that primarily involve looking at images or reading messages.

The exhibition is presented as a gallery experience built from the artists' contributions. Its visitor activities center on the displays, recordings and commemorative photography described in the program.

Tickets, Opening Hours and the Tour Schedule

MPX Gallery is inside IFC Mall at 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Ticket information lists daily opening hours of 11 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. Korea Standard Time, with last admission at 7 p.m.

The official ticket listing confirms general admission at 32,000 won, with admission for visitors aged 36 months and older. Card payments only are accepted. The suggested visit lasts approximately 90 minutes, divided into about one hour for the exhibition and 30 minutes for the collection shop. That split gives visitors a practical estimate of how much time to set aside.

A visitor entering at the listed last admission time would have one hour and 40 minutes before closing, slightly longer than the suggested visit. NOL Ticket carries reservation and schedule information, including the booking conditions and any changes to the listed arrangements.

The announced sequence begins in Seoul and continues overseas:

• October 23, 2026: Scheduled opening at MPX Gallery in IFC Mall, Yeouido.
• November 30, 2026: Scheduled final day of the Seoul exhibition.
• The following January: Planned start of the international tour, beginning in Tokyo before further major cities.

Tokyo is the first named international destination. A full list of later cities, venues and individual opening dates has not been announced. The Seoul exhibition therefore supplies the clearest picture of the project so far, from its six named sections to its admission kit and visitor program.

Key Points

• D'FESTA: The Origin features 48 artists across G-Dragon and eight K-pop groups.
• The Seoul exhibition is scheduled for October 23 to November 30, 2026, at MPX Gallery, IFC Mall, in Yeouido.
• Production involved approximately four months and more than 30 large sets.
• Highlights include 18 stories in THE NINEFOLD, portraits measuring eight by four meters and the collective work KANON NO. 48.
• Drawings, handwritten letters, video messages and interactive activities complement the large installations.
• Listed general admission is 32,000 won, with reservations and updated details available through NOL Ticket.
• An international tour is planned to begin in Tokyo the following January.