By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Tattoo Week Rio will return to the Convenções SulAmérica in Centro for its fourth edition on January 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. The largest tattoo and body piercing convention in Latin America, Tattoo Week Rio 2016 will feature fifty international and eight hundred and fifty national artists divided into two hundred and fifty stands.
In addition to the artists, the convention will offer a little something for everyone with a wide range of programming including Miss Tattoo contests, a short film festival, vendors, exhibitions, a skate competition and B-boy and circus performances and presentations.
Tattoo Week Rio began in Rio de Janeiro four years ago after being imported from São Paulo by the convention’s creators, Esther Gawendo and Enio Donizete Conte. It first took place in Píer Mauá and then was held in Riocentro. Last year, its third edition took place in the Convenções SulAmérica in Centro.
Organized this year by Gawendo and Conte with Sylvio Freitas, Ganso Galvão, and Helida Yama, the convention will return to the Convenções SulAmérica because of its easy accessibility by bus lines and the metro plus its ample parking, cooling system, and additional facilities.
The tattoo artists will once again be grouped into categories including Maori, mechanical, landscape, realistic, abstract, black and gray, and color. There will be daily competitions for best tattoos during the convention.
Additionally, the Miss Tattoo Week Rio competition will return for this edition. Working in partnership with the Delegacia Especializada em Atendimento a Mulher/DEAM( Specialized Police for the Assistance of Women), the contest aims to challenge some accepted standards of beauty by highlighting aesthetic expression and lifestyle choices.
The competition will take place on Saturday 23rd at 4PM and will feature three categories: Miss Tattoo Body Modification, Miss Tattoo Pinup, and Miss Tattoo Beach. During the event, DJs will spin; the Rio de Janeiro band Maldita will perform live; and there will be hip hop battles.
Also performing at 4:30 PM on Saturday will be the Escola de Samba Rosas (Rosas Samba School). This year the São Paulo carnival school is presenting the enredo (theme), “Arte à Flor da Pele: a minha história vai marcar você” (Art Blooms in the Skin: my story will mark you).
Returning to the convention this year for its second edition will be the film festival, Focos Tattoo Cine (Film Tattoo Focus). Curated by tattoo artist Helida Yama and actor Roberto Rowntree, the festival will feature short films based on the world of tattooing and body modification culture.
Also returning to the convention will be the Big Rio Freestyle, a freestyle skate competition. Organized by TaiTai, the competition will welcome very special guests that include twelve-year-old Japanese skating sensation Isamu Yamamoto and professional Brazilian skaters Renê Shigueto and Lúcio Flávio.
Two additional events Tattoo Rap and Tattoo Rock will celebrate the mixture of cultures in the tattoo world. There will be an MC battle, dancing and graffiti as part of Tattoo Rap and a performance by the band Maldita as part of Tattoo Rock.
Clowns, jugglers, mimes, stilt walkers and other circus performers will fill a ring in the praça (square) as part of the Circo-Resg’arte da Praca program during the convention and there will be an art exhibition entitled, “From Hell,” that showcases the works of Brazilian artists, illustrators, and designers that depict the underworld of metal music.
For the complete schedule of events and for more information about the convention see the Facebook event page and the official Tattoo Week website
What: Tattoo Week Rio 2016
When: January 22nd, 23rd and 24th
Where: Centro de Convenções SulAmérica, Av. Paulo de Frontin, 1, Cidade Nova – Centro
Entrance: R$25 – R$50