Dutdutan is the biggest and the grandest tattoo convention in the Philippines. As a tattoo enthusiast, it is a great venue to meet like-minded people. Dutdutan isn’t just about tattoos, though; it is also about art, music, and sports. You can go and meet tattoo artists from all over the country, and from all over the world, as well; heavy metal and rock music bands; URCC MMA players; drum duels; and so much more.
Even thought there was some heavy rain during the first day of the convention, and traffic was horrible as usual, thousands of people still came and participated at the convention. It was nice to go there and understand more about that culture of tattoos. It’s not just the tattoos, either; but also vintage cars, pin up girls, graffiti and rock music.
My favorite part of the convention was staring at the “gallery” of beautiful skin artworks. There were so many beautiful tattoos exposed for everyone to see, and it was a safe place to show off some skin art.
It was also a great place to meet new artists. While I have my favorite trusted tattoo artist, it’s nice to know that there are many more out there who can contribute to the art that I put on my skin.
I was also happy to meet Elyang again, the grand niece of the Kalinga Tattoo Artist Whang Od, whom I met when I went up to Buscalan, and got a tattoo from her. It was cool to see her on my side of town haha. It is so great that the Kalinga traditional tattooing is getting a lot of attention and that the younger generations are willing and happy to learn the art and skill involved.
Discovering awesome local tattoo artists
Tattoo artists from New Zealand, doing traditional tribal tattoos
Make sure you check out the next event next year!
