Call for Submissions: Photo-Based Art Project Exploring Tattoos at Latcham Art Centre

Contribute to a community-centred project that will investigate the stories behind tattoos: the people who wear them and the people that create them.

Latcham Art Centre is embarking on a yearlong project to collect images and stories that explore the relationship between people and their tattoos, and communities formed around tattoo artists and their studios. The result will be a photo-based exhibition that captures the ideas, moments, and stories behind one of the fastest growing and most visible contemporary artforms.

The project aims to represent prevalent themes that are emerging from tattooing as a visual expression of community belonging, identity, personal passion, healing, and commemoration.

We are inviting submissions from photographers, videographers, and tattoo artists that: represent a range of styles and practices; are interested in collaborating with community members to develop an innovative body of work; express the story-telling capacity of photography and tattooing.

Over the duration of the project, Latcham will organize onsite photo sessions with community members and tattoo artists. Latcham will work collaboratively with the selected artists to create an exhibition that will provide an immersive visual experience representing the diverse world of body art.

Latcham welcomes submissions from a diverse range of photo-based artists, including those newly exploring tattooing as a subject and photographers whose existing portfolios engage with tattoo-related themes.

The call invites submissions that:

• explore the storytelling potential in tattooing as a subject
• demonstrate previous experience and interest in working collaboratively with a variety of people
• reflect the cultural, historical or personal dimensions of the art of tattooing
• engage with experimental, documentary, or poetic approaches to photography

How to Submit

Please complete the submission form on Latcham's Exhibition Submission portal.

• Attach up to 10 images of related work (jpg, jpeg, png, or pdf files not exceeding 1MB)
• Include a brief biography, a statement that outlines your interest in tattoos as a subject, and how your practice aligns with the goals of the project, a c.v., and an image list.

Latcham will be in contact with the successful artists in the Fall of 2026.

Project Timeline

• Application Deadline: October 31, 2026
• Artists Notified of Acceptance: November 15, 2026
• Community Collaboration/Production Phase: January – May, 2027
• Exhibition Installation Period: July, 2027
• Exhibition Dates: August, 2027 – October, 2027

Latcham will work collaboratively with the selected artists to create an exhibition. Applicants will be notified of acceptance in November 2026.