Thinking about getting inked? You can expo-lore your options this weekend.
This year’s Rock the Ink expo, the Día de los Muertos edition, is the fourth time Paul and Irene Zukoski have put on the event. It features more than 30 tattoo artists from around the country, as well as a variety of vendors and fine artists including locals John De Jesus, Michael Rohner and Cory Koomoa.
Their first tattoo-focused event, Tattoo the Earth, happened near the start of the millennium, Irene Zukoski said. She said it was the first touring event that featured both tattooing and music.
“It was 21 nights and we had 20 bands on the show, and at the same time we did a tattoo village, we had some of the best tattoo artists in the world on our tour,” she said.“We soon realized it was a big animal to move so many people and bands. It was very difficult to do one-nighters with such a big group, so we wanted to do something more stable.”
A quarter of the tattoo artists featured at the expo are local, and Paul Zukoski said they made sure to integrate homegrown talent into the expo as well.
“The Albuquerque community is rich in artistic culture and certainly steeped in the traditions of Día de los Muertos,” Paul said. “This weekend was designed specifically for the people of Albuquerque and New Mexico.”
There are more than 120 tattoo artists working during the weekend. Guest artists hail from California, Colorado, Georgia, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas, and Curaçao, Mexico.
If you don’t already have a tattoo but wish you could enter the contest, you can get one right there at the show from one of the featured artists.
For this event in Albuquerque, there will be more than 120 tattoo artists who will be tattooing during the weekend. There will be exceptional guest artists coming from California, Colorado, Atlanta, Curaçao, Arizona, Nebraska and Texas.
This weekend also includes a Miss Rock the Ink beauty pageant, featuring 22 local women on Saturday and Sunday of the expo.
Rock the Ink is not just for people who are already integrated into the tattoo community; it is for everybody, Irene Zukosi said.
“We wanted to broaden the appeal of tattooing and also broaden the show so it would be more open to everybody, like athletes, housewives, people who may want to experience it without being hardcore into tattoos,” she said. “Even if you don’t get a tattoo yourself, its interesting to look at the artwork, and also see it being done.”
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Rock the Ink features a Dia de los Muertos-themed costume contest for children and adults, as well as face painting, fine art and jewelry from local artists and a hypnotist.
“It is a great environment because all of the artists at the show are top-notch, and they learn and share their knowledge with each other, and the patrons benefit the most from their talent and expertise,” Paul Zukosi said.
Rock the Ink
Friday through Sunday
Three-day pass: $30
Single-day tickets
Friday and Sunday: $10
Saturday $20
Expo New Mexico
Rocktheink.net
