Nicholas and Boi show the Kuching Tattoo Festival 2022 poster. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Sept 2): The first-ever Kuching Tattoo Festival will be held from Sept 30 until Oct 2 this year.
The three-day event will be held from 10am until 9pm at the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) Hall.
Organisers of the festival are Boi Skolang, 37, from Skrang Tattoo at China Street here and Nicholas Jenta, 33, from Inkzation Tattoo, Kota Samarahan.
Originally, the event was to be held in 2020 but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was cancelled.
Boi said the upcoming event will see more than 80 tattoo artists showcasing tattoo artistry from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and the Philippines.
“This time round, maybe we are not able to get international tattoo artists from overseas, although we have invited. Time is too short to plan to come here and air tickets to fly to Kuching are very expensive,” he said.
Tattoo enthusiasts who are keen to be tattooed will have a good list of talented tattoo artists to select from.
“Tattoo enthusiasts keen to know more about the event or even make appointments with their favourite tattoo artists can surf our Facebook page Kuching Tattoo Festival 2022, and check out the artists they would like to make an appointment with.
“Events like this usually will receive very good response from the community who have interest in culture and art,” said Boi at the press conference at DBNA yesterday.
Besides focusing on tattoos, the three-day event also highlights Dayak handicrafts, food and drinks, traditional rituals and ceremonies, among others.
“There are also booths exhibiting our local handicrafts and traditional products. Food and drinks will be under the canopy at the DBNA compound, the handicrafts will be at the balcony of the hall and the tattooing will be inside the hall.
“On the first day of the event, we will have ‘miring’ and there are also some tattoo exhibitions and demos by the tattoo artists,” he said.
Boi said they had decided that Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian or Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah officiate at the festival, but both have yet to reply to their invitations.
Meanwhile, Boi, who did the ‘Bunga Terung’ tattoo on the famous culinary writer and television presenter the late Anthony Bourdain during the latter’s travel adventure at his longhouse in Nanga Entalau in Skrang, Sri Aman, said tattoo artists will be using both the traditional way and the modern methods to make the tattoos.
“Depending on the individual, like the late Anthony Bourdain, he preferred the traditional way. The price starts from minimum RM150 per design, but then again depending on your preferred design,” he said.
Boi hopes the event will be an inspiration for the younger generations who have interests in arts and culture.
“Besides being a tourist attraction, we hope that tattoo art will be developed among the younger generations who have the interest in art and culture. As you all know, tattoos have been a very popular art in Sarawak, since our great-grandparents days,” he said.
Tattoo enthusiasts can visit their Facebook page for more information and update on the Kuching Tattoo Festival 2022.