Tales of the Tattoo Opening Reception

Show up and show off!! The opening reception on Friday, August 26th, from 6 – 9 is the perfect time to show off your own tattoos and enjoy live tattooing. 

The upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Northern California Art (monca) is Tales of the Tattoo, August 25 – October 9, 2022. The exhibition will feature Northern California tattoo and studio artists presenting their work through drawings, paintings, photographs, and original designs along with a history of this art form over centuries and throughout cultures.

The exhibition will include a street party on September 17th outside the museum where we will have a live mural painting in progress, music, VetArt opportunities, and participatory ways of seeing and being healed by art.

“Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment.” Smithsonian Magazine, January 2007