“At its core, this project is about love of place. As Cincinnatians we may have our differences, but we are all united in our devotion to this very special city. We want to give people a way to recognize and express that devotion. Ink is an ideal medium for the type of enduring love we have for Cincinnati, and I know many people will be excited to be a part of this artistic statement.”

–Tamara Harkavy, CEO and Artistic Director of ArtWorks

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The Cincinnati Tattoo Project is a key part of CincyInk, a city-wide celebration of love for the Queen City! This artistic endeavor connects the words of the poem personally and permanently to over 250 individuals who call Cincinnati home. Each participant in the Cincinnati Tattoo Project has received a unique tattoo of words from the poem on their bodies. 263 unique phrases have been designed by artists Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova, and assigned to the 263 individuals eager to permanently ink their love for Cincinnati.

 

Kurt Gohde & Kremena Todorova, the artists behind successful community-wide celebrated the Lexington Tattoo Project and the Boulder Tattoo Project, are the same artists that ArtWorks commissioned to bring their idea to Cincinnati. Godhe & Todorova have designed all of the 263 tattoos, which will only be produced a single time for each tattoo recipient in the project – ensuring that all participants receive an original work of art connecting them to the City of Cincinnnati, as well as the other 262 project participants.

 

Godhe & Todorova worked in partnership with local tattoo artists, One Shot Tattoo, to bring their vision to life. Led by owner and artist Jason Morgan, One Shot Shot Tattoo’s three artists tattooed all 263 recipients with their curated tattoos over a two month period.  Morgan, a seasoned tattoo artist of 20 years has completed over 20,000 tattoos prior to joining the efforts of the Cincinnati Tattoo Project.  All three artists apprenticed under professional tattoo artists to learn their craft including health guidelines, best practices and how to create a work of art that will age well.

The Cincinnati Enquirer generously photographed all 263 participants in the Cincinnati Tattoo Project. These images will be later used by artists Gohde and Todorova to complete another portion of their project – the final Cincinnati Tattoo Project video.

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Gohde and Todorova have created a video featuring a reading of the poem “Seven Hills and a Queen to Name Them” penned by Chase Public in time with the visual display of the 263 tattoos and accompanied by a locally produced musical score. The Cincinnati Tattoo Project video will be played and shared with the Cincinnati community for the first time at a CincyInk celebration on November 20, 2015.

Watch the trailer.

 

This video is the artwork of Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova,
the creators of the Cincinnati Tattoo Project, which is the core of, 
and inspiration for, CincyInk.

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Want to Ink Your Love for Cincinnati?

While all participants for the Cincinnati Tattoo Project has been selected, you can ink your love for the Queen City in various ways. Visit the CincyInk home page to learn how.

Local 12’s Sydney Benter reports on the Cincinnati Tattoo Project.

 

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Support This Project

We need help to bring this unprecedented project to life. If you are interested in sponsoring CincyInk, there are a number of ways you can support the project. Please contact Sara@ArtWorksCincinnati.org to learn more.

The Cincinnati Tattoo Project, presented by ArtWorks, is the vision of artists Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova and is modeled after their previous Tattoo Projects in Boulder and Lexington. Seven Hills and a Queen to Name Them was underwritten by The Johnson Foundation and crafted by Chase Public.