TATTOO CULTURE




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Sound Check | Turnstile, Lucy Dacus, The Barons and more!

Nothing but crazy bangers this week. These are all pretty big shows but it’s some of the best of the best in their respective genres, all in Richmond this week. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy...

Photos | Sierra Ferrell and Nikki Lane Bring Americana to Richmond

Sierra Ferrell took over Brown’s Island earlier this week, transforming Richmond’s riverfront into fantasy. Surrounded by oversized mushrooms, flowers, and a stage dressed like an Appalachian fever dream, Ferrell delivered a set that moved easily from honky-tonk stomp...

Salon de Résistance | A Live Interview Series From RVA Mag

"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth" - Albert Camus Dispatch NUmber One: Salon de Résistance | presented by RVA Mag, Black Iris, and Le Cachet Dulcet Not long ago, salons were a catalyst for intellectual expression. Spaces where creators,...

RVA 5×5 | Shine On You Crazy (And Memorable) Diamond

On Sunday afternoon, the last baseball game will be held at The Diamond after 40 years of service to a city and region and two baseball teams in what was, when it opened, “a major league park in a minor league town.” Between opening night in 1985 and the last game on...

Confederate Nostalgia, Black Voices: The Paradox of Polk Miller

Over a century ago, engineers from the Edison Company hauled their bulky recording equipment from New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia. In 1909, they captured one of the first interracial recording sessions in American history: Polk Miller, a white Confederate veteran...

The Felon Who Built Scott’s Addition

Before the beer taps and condos, before the buzzwords about ‘revitalization,’ Scott’s Addition’s future passed through the hands of a single man: Justin Glynn French. A convicted felon whose empire collapsed in scandal, he set the stage, even if unintentionally, for...

Sci-Fi Ink: Richmond’s Tattoo Artists on Their Best Work

In 2015, Richmond was the third most tattooed city in the country. Over the past few years, over a dozen shops have cropped up along Broad Street and judging from looking around VCU's campus and basically any bar in Richmond, body art is something that will always be a part of the city's culture. With so many well done, beautiful tattoos...

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Lucky 13 Draws Crowds with Affordable Ink Deals

It's a long-standing tradition at Richmond's tattoo shops, but what makes someone wait in line for a $13 tattoo? Customers lined up by All-For-One, one of many shops along with Lucky 13 offering specials on Friday the 13th "It's really about the community," one heavily-tattooed visitor tells me. She skipped work to be here, and asks that I not...

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Customer Service and Quality Ink: Lucky 13’s Winning Combination

Over the past few years, over a dozen tattoo shops have cropped up throughout the growing Broad Street pocket and its surrounding areas -- from high-end boutique shops to budget tattoo joints, members of the Richmond tattoo scene are increasingly rubbing elbows. You might expect that all this competition would be bad for business, but Lucky 13...

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The Ultimate Ink Event: Richmond Tattoo Festival’s Milestone Year

Tattoos and street art are undeniably Richmond to the point that we should erect a monument of a giant paintbrush on Monument Avenue. As of 2015, the city was the third most tattooed place in the country and has become apart of our culture just as street art is starting to. With the fascination and popularity of body ink, it only makes...

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Ink Masters Converge: Richmond Tattoo & Arts Festival 2017

Jesse Smith and Kenny Brown proudly carry on the tradition of one of the world's oldest tattoo conventions! Join us from September 29 to October 1, 2017! This year's festival features an impressive lineup of tattoo artists, including both local talents and internationally renowned figures. Many Ink Master contestants will be in attendance!...

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Richmond’s Ink Explosion: Festival Showcases the Best of the Best

Tattoos are no longer a piece of art that are occasionally seen on someone’s body around Richmond. Everyone from VCU students to musicians, teachers to soccer moms, seem to have collected at least one tattoo on their body. It’s become integrated into our culture and also landed us as the third most tattooed city in the country. With our...

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Top Tattoo Artists Compete in Richmond for Ultimate Bragging Rights

Tattoos are more than just designs on someone's body here in Richmond. They're something our city is now known for and have become just as much a part of our rich culture as murals or music venues are. Richmond has become so obsessed that now we're even holding a competition for them. Jesse Smith, tattoo artist and shop owner of Carytown...

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