Carmelo Gomez of Reverencia Tattoo will appear at this year’s Richmond Tattoo & Arts Convention. (Photo courtesy Richmond Tattoo & Arts Convention)
Sure, you can watch tattoo artists at work during the Richmond Tattoo & Arts Convention Oct. 18-20, but you can also vie for a date with “Ink Master” television celebrities Ryan Ashley and Bobby Johnson, show off your vocal talents at Karaoke Cage Match, attempt to outbid your bestie for artwork made on-site, or let your kid use your body as a canvas for a one-of-a-kind design.
More than 180 tattooists (plus 90 vendors) are participating in this year’s event. And that’s not all: There are educational seminars for the artists, meet-and-greet sessions with the pros and an after-party with DJ Sliink.
“Tattoo conventions can get so boring, where you’re just walking around and watching people get tattooed,” says Jesse Smith, owner of Richmond’s Loose Screw Tattoo and the convention’s lead host and organizer. “My goal is to bring the best tattoo artists we can and treat them as well as we can, plus bring the public to have fun, even if they don’t get tattooed.”
Smith and partner Kenny Brown (who died in 2022) took over management of the convention in 2016. The event started as a gathering of a few hundred people in 1988, held at the former Holiday Inn Koger Center (now a DoubleTree by Hilton). In 2023, there were about 3,500 attendees; that number is expected to grow this year, with a goal of 5,000 people. The event became annual in 1992 and for a few years took place at the downtown Greater Richmond Convention Center, but it was still directed primarily at practitioners.
“[Richmond’s event] started at a time when tattooing was illegal [in some areas around the country], pre-internet, pre-cellphones,” says Ashley, who is serving as co-host this year. “Back then, the only way to share knowledge was to get together. Now, Richmond’s is the oldest continuously running convention in the U.S.”
Ashley first headlined in 2019, and she keeps coming back for more.
“I’m really impressed as a tattooer that Jesse conducts this convention almost like a family barbecue,” she says. “It’s so big and so popular, but Jesse keeps the integrity and the heart in it. The tattoo industry is becoming a rock star world, which is amazing for us, but this is like a home-cooked meal.”
Smith agrees that art is central to the convention’s mission. “I’m an artist first and foremost and a tattoo artist second,” he says. “My ultimate goal is to turn this into a massive art event with art of all facets.”
To that end, in 2017, Smith and Brown invited artists to come and create art live in front of an audience. They then donate those pieces for an auction benefiting a different charity every year.
Called Live Art for Charity, this year’s proceeds will go to Hope vs. Cancer, a nonprofit that provides temporary tattoos for children battling the disease.
Smith also wants parents to know that kids are welcome at Kenny Brown’s Tiny Tat Shack, a designated area featuring a bounce house, caricatures, face-painting and a kids’ tattoo competition. After 8 p.m., though, the entertainment is adult-focused, with an Air Sex Competition — billed as an event for those age 18 and up willing to embarrass themselves — and the Karaoke Cage Match, which Ashley remembers well from last year.
“I was trying to be serious, working on a client, and this girl gets on the mic, and I couldn’t even concentrate,” she says. “[The convention is] a cool place to be with people who are there to produce good art and have a good time.”
The Richmond Tattoo & Arts Convention takes place Oct. 18-20 at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 1021 Koger Center Boulevard in Midlothian. Day passes start at $33; weekend tickets are $62 (or $65 at the door). VIP packages range from $120 to $730.
