Southern Ink Xposure back in Cape Town

In January 2009, the partnership of Cape Town tattoo artist Manuela Gray and her husband Allan brought the first ever International tattoo convention to South Africa. Held in a hall at the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre), the inaugural event was attended by more than 45 artists (amongst them some of the biggest names in international skin ink), from over a dozen foreign countries performing their art on hundreds of tattoo-hungry fans. The event played host to two art exhibitions, two nights of live music and a charity fundraiser attended by more than 5500 members of the public.

The following year, the event went bigger with nearly double the number of attending overseas artists and all of South Africa's most credible ink-smiths having signed up to take part in the week-long series of events that again included unique art exhibitions, live collaborative art events, the best South African music, and of course the tattoo convention itself.

Big name regulars

In 2011, Southern Ink Xposure will again celebrate and showcase the best in global tattoo culture and lifestyle within a beautifully South African context.

In order to provide attending artists and the public with a more intimate setting, the event has been moved from the CTICC to the Pavilion Conference Centre (formerly the Imax/BMW Pavilion), at the V&A Waterfront complex.

Whilst big-name convention "regulars", such as Paul Booth (US), Bob Tyrrell (US), Nick Chaboya (US), Glen Paradis (Canada), Manuela Gray (SA), Jay Jay (Sweden), Rev. Simon White (SA), Joe Johns (US), Tyler Murphy (SA), Gordon Claus (Germany), Tom Tattoo (Italy) and Garth Staunton (SA) will again be setting up shop at S.I.X 2011, more top international artists are being confirmed and will be announced in the coming weeks.

More music concerts

Southern Ink Xposure 2011 attendees can also look forward to an expanded art exhibition programme, more music concerts (featuring at least one international band!), greater variety of market stalls, more competitions, and a bigger entertainment programme on the convention floor itself.

Convention tickets are now available from Computicket outlets nationwide.

Go to www.capetattooconvention.co.za for updates about attending artists, pre-convention concerts, competitions, and info.

Join the Southern Ink Xposure and Cape Town International Tattoo Convention Facebook group for all the latest gossip and artist information.