Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention 2016: Ink & Brotherly Love

It’s … about … to go … down this weekend, as the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention sets up to hit the City of Brotherly Love with three days full of amazing tattoo work from world-renowned artists, a number of celebrity guest appearances, live painting, sideshow and burlesque performances, and an all-around kickass time!

Taking place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from Feb. 12 to 14, the organizers of the annual tattoo expo, Villain Arts, hope to bring together hundreds of tattoo artists, tattoo enthusiasts, and inked up celebs together to celebrate the art of tattoo for their 18th annual tattoo festival.

The event begins tomorrow (Feb. 12) at 2 p.m. and goes straight ‘til midnight, to resume the next day at 11 a.m. to midnight again, and up to its final day on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Some of the skilled ink slingers who will be setting up shop at the Philly convention include: “Ink Master” stars like Lalo Yunda, Big Ceeze and Emily Elegado, as well as JP Alfonso, Javier Eastman, Hector Cedillo, Reese Hilburn of “Tattoo Nightmares Miami” and many more talented tattoo artists.

Tattoo by Hector Cedillo. [Photo: Instagram/hectorcedillo1]

Tattoo by Big Ceeze. [Photo: Instagram/biggceeze]

Tattoo by Reese Hilburn. [Photo: Instagram/theartofreese]

Tattoo by Lalo Yunda. [Photo: Instagram/lalotattoos]

Tattoo by Javier Eastman. [Photo: Instagram/javiereastman]

Tattoo by JP Alfonso. [Photo: Instagram/jp_alfonso]

In the form of entertainment, Villain Arts has a bill full of rockers, cabaret and sideshow performers, half pint brawlers, nail-biting human suspension acts, fire eaters, death-defying stunt acts, sexy burlesque performances and pin-up contests. Set to hit the Pennsylvania Convention Center stages are acts like: punk rock band, Guttermouth, traveling suspension artist and fire eater, Marlo Marquise, the Enigma, the Olde City Sideshow, the Thunder Snow Cone Burlesque and Variety Show, the Whiskey Kitten Cabaret, Alakazam the Human Knot, Gisella Rose the Human Pincushion and many more jaw-dropping acts. Performances will go on throughout the entire weekend with some performers going on multiple days.

Traveling performance artist, Marlo Marquise. [Photo: VillainArts.com]

The Enigma. [Photo: VillainArts.com]

Alakazam, The Human Knot. [Photo: VillainArts.com]

Gisella Rose, The Human Pincushion. [Photo: VillainArts.com]

And, as is customary, every night will end with tattoo contests where artists and collectors will be awarded trophies for their art in numerous categories some of which include Best Portrait, Best Traditional, Best Sacred Geometry, Best Black & Grey, Best Color, Best Japanese, Tattoo of the Day and many others.

Don’t miss out on what is now considered one of the best tattoo conventions in the nation. For more info on the Philly Tat Con or to purchase tickets, visit their official site: www.villainarts.com.