11th Cleveland Tattoo Arts Festival Features International Artists, Sideshow Acts, Prizes

The 11th Cleveland Tattoo Arts Festival, organized by Villain Arts, is taking place at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland at 300 Lakeside Ave and runs through Sunday, February 22, 2026, bringing international and national tattoo artists together with sideshow acts and daily prizes. Multiple event listings and local coverage identify the festival as a marquee three-day gathering for tattoo culture in downtown Cleveland.

Promotional listings describe the show in big terms: “The World Famous, star-studded, traveling tattoo arts exhibition is anticipated to feature International and National tattoo artists,” a line appearing in the World Tattoo Events listing for Cleveland Tattoo Arts Festival #11. Inkppl’s event page sums the organizer’s aim this way: “The 11th annual Cleveland Tattoo Arts Festival is organized by Villain Arts and celebrates tattoo culture and artistry,” noting attendees can expect “live tattooing, art displays, and community engagement.”

Programming at the convention extends beyond tattoo booths. Ideastream’s event roundup reports, “Local and national tattoo artists offer their services alongside shows from contortionists, sword-swallowers and circus stars,” and adds that “Prizes are given out daily for tattoos inked at the festival,” indicating onsite contests and incentives for work completed during the event.

Listings vary on hours and ticketing. Thisiscleveland’s event listing gives specific weekend hours - Saturday, February 21, 2026, 11am to 11pm and Sunday, February 22, 2026, 11am to 8pm - and lists admission as “$$ ($25 - $75).” Other sources (World Tattoo Events, Inkppl) present the festival as spanning February 20–22, 2026; Ideastream reports the event as “starting Friday” and running through Sunday. Friday public hours and detailed ticket breakdowns are not confirmed across all listings.

Public interest in the artist roster is visible in the World Tattoo Events comment thread, where attendees ask for specifics: “I am wondering the same thing as Debbie Burns, is there a list of all the artists who will be there?” The festival’s promotional footprint includes social links and at least one Instagram post fragment referencing festival highlights and boasting “We are a team of the World's most Awarded Tattoo” (fragment), but a full, confirmed artist list was not present in the listings reviewed.

Organizer contact details appear in local listings: Villain Arts can be reached at info@villainarts.com and by phone at 215.423.4780 for ticketing, artist confirmations and press inquiries. Historical listings on World Tattoo Events and INKPPL reference prior Cleveland editions dating back through 2019 and 2024, underscoring that this is the convention’s 11th iteration.

Through Sunday, the Huntington Convention Center at 300 Lakeside Ave is hosting a festival that blends international tattoo talent with sideshow spectacle and daily prize-driven tattooing, with Villain Arts listed as the event promoter and local listings providing on-site hours and admission ranges.