http://www.blacktattooanthology.com/

Black Tattoo Anthology, 4331 Gallatin Street, 205B, Hyattsville, MD (2026)

10/14/2026

Black Tattoo Anthology® presents:Black Tattoo Culture Con 2026: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK WE’RE ONE WEEK OUT!

and we’re getting ready to gather in Washington, DC!

We’re bringing together Black tattoo artists, cultural workers, historians, makers, and community to celebrate the people, places, and stories that built Black tattoo culture.

And YOU’RE INVITED.

MEET MAMA VALERIA ANN WATSON!

We’re honored to welcome Mama Valeria, a pioneering Black woman tattoo artist whose career began in 1970s New York.

Come hear her stories, celebrate her legacy, and meet a woman who helped lay the groundwork for generations of Black tattoo artists.

COME GET TATTOOED!

One of our four featured tattoo artists is already FULLY BOOKED!

That means we have THREE AMAZING ARTISTS STILL ACCEPTING APPOINTMENTS during Black Tattoo Culture Con.

Explore their work, find your next artist, and leave with a little Black tattoo history of your own.

AND THERE’S MORE!

Art, Business & Culture Conversations

Points & Portraits — Our Living Tattoo Archive

Artist Meet & Greets

FREE Living Altar Pots from Ink & Ọ̀ṣun

Film Screening & Cultural Exchange

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

October 23–25, 2026
Washington, DC

Weekend Pass — $75
Saturday — $55
Sunday — $55

GET YOUR TICKETS →

We gathered. We tended. We made room. We found each other.

The groundwork has already been laid. Now, we document who laid it.

This is Black tattoo history—in progress.

See you at Black Tattoo Culture Con!

10/12/2026

Black Tattoo Anthology® presents: Black Tattoo Culture Con 2026: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

WE’RE ONE WEEK OUT, Creative Cousin!
and we’re getting ready to gather in Washington, DC!

We’re bringing together Black tattoo artists, cultural workers, historians, makers, and community to celebrate the people, places, and stories that built Black tattoo culture.

And YOU’RE INVITED.

MEET MAMA VALERIA ANN WATSON!

We’re honored to welcome Mama Valeria, a pioneering Black woman tattoo artist whose career began in 1970s New York.

Come hear her stories, celebrate her legacy, and meet a woman who helped lay the groundwork for generations of Black tattoo artists.

COME GET TATTOOED!

One of our four featured tattoo artists is already FULLY BOOKED!

That means we have THREE AMAZING ARTISTS STILL ACCEPTING APPOINTMENTS during Black Tattoo Culture Con.

Explore their work, find your next artist, and leave with a little Black tattoo history of your own.

AND THERE’S MORE!

Art, Business & Culture Conversations

Points & Portraits — Our Living Tattoo Archive

Artist Meet & Greets

FREE Living Altar Pots from Ink & Ọ̀ṣun

Film Screening & Cultural Exchange

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

October 23–25, 2026
Washington, DC

Weekend Pass — $75
Saturday — $55
Sunday — $55

GET YOUR TICKETS →

We gathered. We tended. We made room. We found each other.

The groundwork has already been laid. Now, we document who laid it.

This is Black tattoo history—in progress.

See you at Black Tattoo Culture Con!

Rita D Lewis

10/06/2026

Hey creative cousin! Get your tickets to Black Tattoo Culture Con, yet?!

It’s tattoo STORYTIME! And we can’t wait 🥰

We’re blessed to hold space to welcome her back as she continues to carry her work forward.

Mama Valeria is tattooing again.

At 78, one of the earliest documented Black women tattoo artists in U.S. tattoo history is joining us for an entire weekend of stories, tattoos, artifacts and communion at Black Tattoo Culture Con.
Come experience Mama Scarabaeus Tattoo Temple. (AVAW - AtelierValeriaAnnWatson )
Come get tattooed. Come sit and hear the stories.
Take home an artifact from her body of work.

And most importantly—come experience what happens when Black tattoo history gets to be told by the people who live it.

Black Tattoo Culture Con
October 23–25, 2026 | Washington, DC

Weekend passes, Mama Valeria tattoo appointments + Mama Scarabaeus artifacts available now.

BLACKTATTOOANTHOLOGY.COM⁠

Same hands. More stories. Sharing across generations.

10/05/2026

🚨 LAST CALL FOR THE RESIDENCY, TATTOO COUSINS! 🚨 For talented artists asking, “I can tattoo. What can I build WITH that?” — this is your invitation to think bigger than the next appointment.

Pull up to Ògè Ṣíṣẹ Artist Residency at Black Tattoo Culture Con, October 21–25 in Washington, DC, for five days of tattooing, study, cultural exchange, business development, and relationship building.

It’s time to plan your next chapter, communicate the value of your work, find new opportunities, meet new collectors, and build the relationships that can support a lasting career.

Because your work deserves more than a vendor table.

Get out the shop. Get in the field. And get your business together.

Six Black tattoo artists.
Two private residency days.
Three public festival days.
Tattoo booking.
Culture, spirit, craft + legacy.
And year-round brand-building support.

Apply for Ògè Ṣíṣẹ Artist Residency at
✨ BlackTattooAnthology.com ✨

10/02/2026

Hey creative cousin! Meet some of our tattoo cousins tattooing in DC for Black Tattoo Anthology’s 2nd convening! Join us for a weekend of gathering and celebrating Black tattoo culture — the stories, people and groundwork that got us here.

Tickets are NOW ON SALE
and resident artists are NOW BOOKING

Come for the tattoos.
Stay for the stories.
Enjoy communing.

Artist info and tickets available at
✨ blacktattooanthology.com ✨

——

We still have a few resident artists spaces available.
If you are a Black tattoo artist and interested, visit the site for more info.

09/24/2026

Hey creative cousin! Let us introduce you to this year’s special guest. We found each other because somebody made room for the story.

Before Black Tattoo Anthology knew her, there was Sharky Pitts (ꕥSharky Pittsꕥ) —whose relationship with Mama Valeria Ann Watson and first issue of I Sing the Body Electric helped introduce another generation to her work, life and legacy.

We’re blessed to hold space to welcome her back as she continues to carry her work forward.

Mama Valeria is tattooing again.

At 78, one of the earliest documented Black women tattoo artists in U.S. tattoo history is joining us for an entire weekend of stories, tattoos, artifacts and communion at Black Tattoo Culture Con.
Come experience Mama Scarabaeus Tattoo Temple.
Come get tattooed. Come sit and hear the stories.
Take home an artifact from her body of work.

And most importantly—come experience what happens when Black tattoo history gets to be told by the people who live it.

Black Tattoo Culture Con
October 23–25, 2026 | Washington, DC

Weekend passes, Mama Valeria tattoo appointments + Mama Scarabaeus artifacts available now.

BLACKTATTOOANTHOLOGY.COM⁠

Same hands. More stories. Sharing across generations.

09/24/2026

Hey creative cousin! Let us introduce you to this year’s special guest. We found each other because somebody made room for the story.

Before Black Tattoo Anthology knew her, there was Sharky Pitts (ꕥSharky Pittsꕥ) —whose relationship with Mama Valeria Ann Watson and first issue of I Sing the Body Electric helped introduce another generation to her work, life and legacy.

We’re blessed to hold space to welcome her back as she continues to carry her work forward.

Mama Valeria is tattooing again.

At 78, one of the earliest documented Black women tattoo artists in U.S. tattoo history is joining us for an entire weekend of stories, tattoos, artifacts and communion at Black Tattoo Culture Con.
Come experience Mama Scarabaeus Tattoo Temple.
Come get tattooed. Come sit and hear the stories.
Take home an artifact from her body of work.

And most importantly—come experience what happens when Black tattoo history gets to be told by the people who live it.

Black Tattoo Culture Con
October 23–25, 2026 | Washington, DC

Weekend passes, Mama Valeria tattoo appointments + Mama Scarabaeus artifacts available now.

BLACKTATTOOANTHOLOGY.COM⁠

Same hands. More stories. Sharing across generations.

09/23/2026

Hey Creative Cousins 🌟

Its easy to get caught up in the superficial nature of industry, but tradition truly stands the test of time. So many modern technologies, methodologies & ideas derive from practices older than the folks remixing and reversing them. So how do we continue to embody and celebrate this spirit of Sankofa?

Writing ourselves in!

Each documentation, via photo, written word, or oral history, sustains the beautiful & complex mosaic of our traditions. As the broader story builds, we leave behind a sturdy foundation for those after us to continue to reference as they walk that thing out on their own.

Our people know far too well the effects of history only being written in favor of those with inorganic surplus of power. It is our responsibility to uncover and position our peoples practices & experiences as tools for building the future of our wildest dreams.

This rings true within Tattoo, but also across various creative mediums and the mundane everyday. Be sure to write yourself in, we need it.

Our people are out there.
Help us find each other.

↗️ SHARE this post.
🏷️ TAG somebody who belongs in this conversation.
💬 COMMENT TRIBE if we just found you.

Follow → Black Tattoo Anthology®️ Research Collective

Subscribe & Join the Movement at
✨ blacktattooanthology.com ✨

09/17/2026

Hey creative cousins! One of the biggest questions I get is: “How did your mom feel about you becoming a tattoo artist?”

Because whew! … she did NOT always understand the moves.
BUT … she showed up, supported me, came to the shop, mentored me through a career neither of us could have imagined.

And now she a whole shop manager.

Now, we’re sitting down together at Black Tattoo Culture Con® to talk about art, parental support, making a living from your craft, and what happens when your parents can’t see the vision yet.

For every artist whose parents ever asked, “But how are you gonna make money doing THAT?” 😭

Me + my mama. On BRAND.
At the Ògè ṢíṢẸ Artist Residency.

Won’t He do it! *insert worship & praise music and open da shout*

We got 4 more seats left for the tattoo artist residency happening this October.

Comment “FIELD” and we’ll send all the deets to your DM

Or visit us at
✨ blacktattooanthology.com ✨

Don’t forget to like, share and comment.
Run my mama up! And let her know we outside 🥰

blacktattooculture

09/14/2026

Hey creative cousin. We are honored to announce our 2026 Artist Residency knowledge partners.

Annually, our residency works to bring together artists, entrepreneurs, researchers and cultural practitioners to help tattoo artists get out the shop, get in the field—and get their business together.

But these aren’t lectures. They’re conversations built around questions every working artist should be asking:

CULTURE | Oluwatobi Adedayo Olumide
What are you carrying? Where did your practice come from?

SPIRIT | Nicole Murphy
What keeps you connected to the work? What does the work require of you?

CRAFT | Arinze Christian
What makes your practice yours? What do you make, how did you learn + what distinguishes the way you make it?

IP | Michelle Burgess, Esq.
What do you own? How do you protect what you create?

BRAND | Imani K. Brown® & Pearlie Brown
What are you known for? Are you intentionally shaping your story?

MONEY | Oloya Iya Sade
How does your craft become an asset? How does pricing create self-sustaining boundaries?

LEGACY | Dr. LaTanya White
& TATTOO LEGACY | Valeria Ann Watson
What will remain because you were here?

These conversations are designed to help you interrogate the practice you already have—and strengthen the one you’re trying to build.

Because being good at tattooing is one thing.

Building a practice that can sustain you is another.

So, Tattoo Cousins…

YOU GON’ BE THERE?! 👀

We still have 4 spots available for our 2026 cohort.

Come get out the shop. Get in the field.
And get your BUSINESS together!

Comment FIELD & we’ll DM you all the info.

✨ blacktattooanthology.com ✨

Black Tattoo Anthology

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