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Cairo Tattoo Convention is a one of a kind gathering of tattoo artists in the Middle East, and this year is at its second edition.Many people thought the Middle East was an impossible ground to plant the roots of an art like tattoo. Very few have taken the risk to pursue a brave and never ending exploration of art and research in a part of the world mistakenly perceived as complicated and impenetrable. The Convention has been created last year by Orne Gil, founder of Nowhereland Tattoo Studio, who is also carrying forward a broader project (Nowhereland Tattoo Project) that aims to bring the art of tattoo in countries – mainly in the Middle East – where it has been limited, due to religious or social reasons.
In the last four years, Cairo saw an unheard-of blooming of artists. In this scene, Nowhereland Tattoo had the opportunity to contribute to this movement and build a network of clients, followers and friends in Cairo and the Middle East.
Since the beginning, Nowhereland has voiced what tattoo art is all about, as a full art, with its history, its concepts and its forms of expression. The meeting with Ines Della Valle – a photojournalist who at that time was in Egypt to cover the Arab Spring, then decided to stay and document the social changes that the country was facing – let the story of Nowhereland to be seen and heard. Nowhereland Tattoo Project hit the attention of the European and American audience, thanks to the reportages published on magazines like Total Tattoo, Sink & Ink, Rolling Stone Magazine Italia, and many more. It was just the beginning of a collaboration that brought to a “back to back” organization of this second edition of the Cairo Tattoo Convention. At this stage of the process, it is no more about taboos to be broken, religious or any other social restrictions: a subculture is born and the new generations are looking for something more. They want to understand, they look for quality, and they want to see new artists and styles. Egypt is now a cradle of the art, at the highest point of its own Renaissance. The first edition gathered, for the first time ever, those few and hidden Egyptian tattoo artists, to give them visibility. We created this 2015 edition with the intention to show regionally and internationally the full and enormous potential of this part of the world. We are now ready to invite international artists for a long awaited exchange of styles and knowledge.