The Toronto Tattoo Show & Convention News

Running from Thursday, June 16th to Sunday, June 19th will be the 18th annual Northern Ink Xposure Toronto Tattoo Show. From the star studded guest list, to the music and the annual contests, this year’s showing will be packed with a plethora of things to do and see. Best of all, there will be several internationally renowned tattoo artists in attendance, including Paul Booth, Flip and Titine Leu, Kurt Wiscombe, Alex Adams and many more.

Everything will kick off on the first night with an opening party at the ROM that will feature The Art Fusion Experiment hosted by Booth and the Leu family. Other highlights of the festival will include live burlesque shows with dancer Raquel Reed. On Saturday and Sunday, there will also be tattoo contests in various categories like “Best Sleeve” and “Most Realistic.”

To get tickets and check out the full run down of events and guests check out the NIX website.

Social Media as a Tool for Tattoo Cons

Social media is the equivalent of word of mouth in the online world. Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter are essential tools for getting the word out about events just like tattoo conventions where their success has a lot to do with the number of attendees. Posting on social media is way to connect with an international audience, especially with those who are unable to physically attend a convention. Through social media, tattoo artists that are featured by conventions can still reach that faraway audience.

Top 5 International Conventions Coming Up

Finally, just in case you’re not as familiar with the tattoo convention circuit, we’ve amass a brief list of some upcoming conventions to keep an eye out for:

Tattoo Masquerade- Hosted at the Colorado Convention Center, this event will combine tattooing and cosplay. Thousands of artists, painters, vendors and live performers are set to attend.

New York Empire State Expo- This event will feature more than 300 of the world’s best artists, Paul Booth’s exhibit “Flesh to Canvas,” and workshops on tattooing.

The International London Tattoo Festival- This year’s festival will be the 12th edition of this event. 200 of the most prestigious tattoo artists have been invited to show off their tremendous skills.

Australian International Tattoo Expo- This is a multicity event that draws more than 30,000 attendees each year. The highlight of these cons are the contests and the guest speakers.

Krakow Tattoofest- Based in Krakow, Poland this year will mark this festival’s 11th anniversary. This year more than 300 tattoo artists from all over the world will be in attendance.