Artists, enthusiasts leave their mark at tattoo show

Thousands pour into Metro Toronto Convention Centre for annual event

- MAHDIS HABIBINIA

Anthony Lara, left, and Anthony Charbonneau work on a three-day full-leg piece for Jaden Bainbridge.

The buzzing of needles could be heard two floors up as tattoo artists and aficionados from all over gathered at Toronto’s annual tattoo show downtown.

Billed as one of the world’s largest tattoo conventions, thousands poured into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Thursday to Sunday for the Toronto Tattoo Show NIX 2024 to gawk at the myriad of designs, participate in contests and get tattooed on the spot.

Organizer Dan Allaston, 62, joined operations in 2019 after years as an adviser (and now works with co-organizer Milena Fusco) but says the tattoo show’s beginnings date back to 1998 in Collingwood.

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, he continued, the objective was twofold: show the world that tattoos are a form of art and showcase this artwork to people who perceived it as “primitive old sailor tattoos.”

“Now, tattoos are much more popular amongst the general public. So now we’re trying to up the game and showcase the finer art aspects,” said Allaston, who’s also a tattooist and owner of Ottawa’s New Moon Tattoo shop.

Artists from across Canada were joined by those hailing from Sweden, Norway, France, Italy, England, Korea, China and South America. Various generations, genders and ethnicities were getting tattooed to commemorate something, mark a milestone, add to their body’s canvas or just be spontaneous.

Allaston said they work closely with Toronto Public Health, who was on site to monitor and do spot checks, to ensure health and safety protocols were up to par. Every one of the more than 400 tattooists were inspected and registered.