Villain Arts Tattoo Festival comes to Syracuse

Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Tattoo artists, piercers, clients, and more filled The Oncenter this past weekend as Villain Arts brought its touring tattoo festival to Syracuse for the first time. 

The festival drew tattoo artists, piercers, vendors and visitors. But for many of the artists, the event was a chance to share their art, build relationships and show how tattooing has evolved.

Russ, a tattoo artist who owns Addictive Pain Tattoo in Gloversville, said tattooing has been a creative outlet throughout his life.

“It’s a great outlet,” he said. “This stuff saved my life. Anytime I tattooed, I didn’t think about stuff that was wrong in my life.”

Tattoo artist Kribz who works with Skribbles Ink Tattoo Parlor, said tattooing has been his focus since he began sweeping floors at a tattoo shop as a teenager.

“Through high school and college classes, all I ever did was draw,” he said. “It’s the only thing I ever really cared about.”

For artists, conventions offer an opportunity to work alongside others in the industry instead of alone in their own studios. Kylita, a tooth gem artist who has worked at tattoo conventions for more than 13 years, said that sense of community matters.

“Conventions are really important just for everybody to come together, socialize a little bit, network, get to know each other and really just to support each other,” she said. “It’s a really good community.”

That community extends beyond the convention floor. Johnny Tatu, a traveling tattoo artist from New Hampshire, said the shows give artists a chance to reconnect with friends and exchange ideas.

“We get to share quality time at the end of the show, hanging out, exchanging art with each other, exchanging tactics and techniques, and just catching up on old times,” he said.

Johnny Tatu said that traveling is also connected to tattooing’s past.

“Historically speaking, a lot of the subculture of tattooing started with carnivals, sideshows, circuses and fairs,” he said. “So that lifestyle is somehow in my blood to travel. I keep that old-school tattoo spirit alive doing these different shows.”

Kylita said the industry can be difficult to enter, especially for women.

“It is very male-dominated, but I think things are changing a lot more,” she said. “It’s a lot more of a safe space for women.”

She said she has earned more respect over time but hopes her career shows other women that they can find success in the industry on their own terms.

Villain Arts founder Troy Timpel said conventions also give artists a way to learn from one another, see new equipment and styles, and grow their businesses.

“It gives them a chance to have a platform and a place to compete, to learn, to grow, to see what the new equipment is, the new styles, the new developments within the craft,” Timpel said.

For Kribz, the goal is for clients to remember the experience around getting tattooed.

“I want everyone who comes here to have a great time, to have fun, to smile,” he said. “I don’t want them to just have the piece and remember the piece, but remember their experience, remember where they came and enjoy it.”

The festival also introduced tattoo culture to people who had never experienced a convention before. David Rivas attended after a friend told him about the event. Although he has not gotten a tattoo yet, he said seeing the work in person gave him a new appreciation for the creativity behind it.

“It shows me a lot of different creativity and visions from other artists,” Rivas said. “I’ve never really been in a position like this before. It’s pretty nice.”

For artists and visitors alike, the festival offered a look at tattooing as a form of storytelling, expression and community.