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Art Show Mission Statement

"To utilize thought provoking original artwork from talented tattoo artists to raise funds in support of local and national arts education."

Why?

In response to the growing sense of disillusion regarding the path our country is currently following, and frustration with an inability to have any impact or voice against the acceleration of events, we are organizing the "Revolution is Free". This sentiment echoes within the tattoo community and greater society as a whole; change seems impossible, "what can I possibly do?" reverberates across the country. As individuals, it seems incredibly daunting to accomplish ANYTHING resembling meaningful change. And alone, it is practically impossible, but none of us are alone in our feelings and strength is found in numbers when many voices become one, so how do we unite?

The tattoo culture is already united under the banner of tattoo appreciation, so the challenge then becomes sparking the conversation that will lead to change and empowerment. In the coming months, an art exhibit sponsored by TattooNOW will be traveling the U.S., hosted in the gallery space tattoo shops nationwide. The featured work from nationally recognized tattoo artists will fall into one of three categories reality, transition, apocalypse/utopia (click here for more details on the topics). The goal is to inspire the tattooed community to engage in an educated, political and social dialogue, which will ultimately lead towards greater community organizing and increased civic engagement on the part of some of the most innovative and creative people our country has to offer.

Our nation needs the tattooed community now more than ever. We face new challenges and crises every day, with no clear end or answer in sight. If there was ever a time for the creative and intuitive people to engage it is now, and yet these are exactly the people who are shaking their heads and walking away. Worse still, the educational system that, at some point, exposed each one of us to art, music and creativity, is in a downward spiral; whether we know it or not, we are an endangered species, and if we're going to go through the trouble to spark this conversation, we have to be sure that there are people around able to continue it in subsequent generations! But the people at the top do not see the value of the arts in education, and thus, they are simply an expensive line item easily deleted from ever-tightening budgets. Perhaps this is the ultimate goal, to make people just like us, the creative, innovative thinkers, a thing of the past; a distant memory for the future drones that quietly tow any line the government dictates, victims of a runaway education system that holds test scores alone to be the holy grail of achievement. Regardless of their intent, we are doing something about it, and hope that you will too.

We know that philosophy, the arts, and creativity are major assets to business, government, and thinkers. By exploring the arts and creative side our minds, we help push our brains and push learning up a notch. Creative, intelligent people are one of the most important resources a society can have, and due to the nature of human beings, one of the most renewable. Our government owes it to the population to make sure every child is capable of critical and complex thought, not merely making sure that children can read, write and take tests. The best thing we can do for our country, and our population, is leave a more educated, creative generation to pick up the torch after we are gone, and ensuring quality education for our nation's children is the key.

So our mission is three-fold. We will share the artistic vision of the industry's best and brightest on the topics of reality, transition, apocalypse/utopia, and by doing so, inspiring each person who sees the exhibit to think critically about these issues themselves, to question assumptions, to push boundaries, to explore their beliefs, discuss to then them with others and to challenge and educate each other. Beyond that, we will expose the public to these same topics, with the same goal in mind, as well as promote a greater understanding and appreciation for the tattoo culture, by hosting these advertised exhibits in tattoo shops that also serve as art galleries. Finally, we will invest some of OUR social capital into research and funding for arts education for children to insure that informed, creative, critically thinking people do not become a thing of the past. Each one of us could argue strongly regarding the value of art in their lives, but policy is not changed by individual examples, data is required. Americans for the Arts has done some amazing work regarding the impact of arts education on young people. With art and music still being eliminated from schools in all 50 states, clearly this is not enough, more work must be done, and more people need to get involved and teachers need greater training to most effectively help children reach their creative potential, so we're going to support that too.

All this takes money, and thus, the proceeds of this art show after costs will be donated to support both research and advocacy of arts for children, as well as providing professional development funds to teachers. We are working very hard to keep our production costs down, and our participating artists are donating the lions share of the show's proceeds to this worthy cause. At present, we have are lining up our artists for the exhibit itself, and we welcome flash submissions relating to the above-mentioned subjects (click here for more info). These sets will travel with the show, and will be sold at the six host galleries as well as on TattooNOW.com with the majority of the proceeds going towards the causes outlined above. Featured artists will get exposure, free marketing in varied locations, and you can sleep at night knowing you did a little bit for the forces of light. We also hope to use some of the proceeds to promote future shows of this nature. Topics and proceeds recipients to vary by year, we also welcome suggestions on possible future themes!

Submit art to the show

Please direct any questions comments or concerns to gabe.