Popular tattoo fair returns to the capital region after pandemic break

Tattoo artists and enthusiasts from all over Ontario and Quebec are in the National Capital Region this weekend hoping to stimulate the return of an industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ottawa-Gatineau Capital City Ink Festival first began in 2011 but was canceled for the first time in 2020 due to COVID-19. Its return after a two-year hiatus proved popular when people lined up at the Hilton “Casino” Lac Leamy Hotel in Gatineau, Que., On Saturday to either give or receive ink.

Roxy Kay is a tattoo artist and owner of With Trust & Faith Ink Tattoo Shop in Port Dover, Ont. It was her first time at the convention.

“It’s pretty nice to see people out, and a little bit of normalcy again,” she said.

Kay says that tattooing is the way many artists express themselves, and that outlet was taken away when the pandemic hit. (Celeste Decaire / CBC)

Kay has been running her tattoo shop since 2012 and said the pandemic created a difficult set of circumstances for her and her business. She was forced to shut down for 11 months and had no income from the store during that time.

“We’re one of the most sterile environments you could be in, and it was probably actually one of the safest places you could be in through the pandemic, but we were still shut down.”

Kay said that when she was able to reopen, the store flourished because “everyone wanted a tattoo.” For now, she says the business is at a more manageable pace and she is hopeful for the future of the industry.

Gabriel Papineau says there is no doubt that the pandemic affected him and other tattooists, but there are “no limits” on the road ahead as life begins to return to normal. (Celeste Decaire / CBC)

The exhibition runs from 12 to 14 November and features dozens of tattoo artists with different styles and backgrounds.

Gabriel Papineau works at Sage, a tattoo shop in the western end of Ottawa. He had a rather untraditional start in the industry, moving from one hard-hit industry to another.

He said the pandemic was the reason he decided to leave the food world and pick up a needle and ink to get started in the popular body art industry.

Papineau specializes in sketch-style tattooing, with a love for anime pieces. (Celeste Decaire / CBC)

“I literally had nothing to do, so I bought myself a machine and tattooed my whole leg.”

Papineau worked as a chef for 15 years and was out of work when the pandemic hit. He kept himself busy training as a tattoo artist, but was again out of work due to provincial restrictions on the industry.

He said being unemployed gave him more time to work on his art outside the store.

“It’s always a struggle as an artist when you can not work. It’s a struggle because we are independent, right?”

For someone who describes himself as an introvert, Papineau said the exhibit was “very stressful,” but that the energetic environment and friendly people make the tattoo industry a great community to be a part of.