WHAT IT TAKES TO START A COVEN

It started with a joke at dinner.

After an expo in 2024, Helen and Carly were at a post-expo dinner they describe as a tradition, talking about the event they wanted: a new one for the industry, less male-dominated and more inclusive. Helen joked about starting their own. Carly and their friend Courtney Elise agreed to join if they were serious about it.

They were. Courtney later stepped away from the organising side but remains an attending artist. Helen and Carly kept going, and nearly two years later, The Coven Tattoo & Arts Expo is ready to open its doors.

What they were tired of

Most tattoo expos follow a familiar formula. Pole dancers and fire jugglers for entertainment. A competition for best tattoo, and sometimes one for worst. The artists themselves can start to look like free marketing for the event.

Helen and Carly aren't arguing that existing expos should go. “These expos are great for that one group of people but our industry has grown so much further than motorbikes, skulls & flames.” Their complaint is who gets left out.

“There is a huge demographic that is overlooked and it is unfortunately, quite frustrating feeling that most events are targeted towards the male gaze and a real old school mentality.” They say those events “can unfortunately continue to perpetuate a narrative that sexualises and fetishises women as tattooed individuals or artists,” and that they “often never even met or was acknowledged by the Director of previous tattoo events feeling like extra cash in his pocket.”

The expos started to repeat. “After doing so many expos that feel repetitive every time, it hit a point where we were feeling desperate for something made for us and our communities.” Many of their clients have never been to an expo at all, put off by the environment most are built around.

“Tattoos are for everyone and ensuring different events exist to create safe spaces so that everyone can attend is so important for the future of tattooing.”

The build

Helen tattoos dark blackwork illustration at The Scarlet Temple in North Melbourne. “Anything spooky, creepy and macabre is my jam,” she says. Carly owns Sweet Nothings, a private studio in Brunswick West, with her husband Nick, and specialises in “bright, colourful and bold bubblegum trad with a big emphasis on making anything and everything as cute as possible.” She adds: “Definitely doesn’t fit the little spooky girl vibe I give off.”

They knew each other’s online presence before meeting at a mutual friend’s barbecue. They shared plenty of interests, from music to roller skating, but the friendship has largely been built through the work itself. “To be honest our friendship has grown mostly through working on The Coven together!”

They describe the planning in one word. “Chaos. It was a lot of uber eats, excel spreadsheets and lounge room meetings.” They sent a questionnaire to friends and other artists to find out what people liked and disliked about expos, then started making lists.

The venue was the hard part. “It's extremely difficult (& expensive) to run in Victoria so there were a lot of inspections and meetings.” And: “Unfortunately you can’t just google how to start a tattoo expo so we had to learn and research everything ourselves. It almost felt impossible.”

They found the Town Square Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds and “had to take a leap of faith and just rip the bandaid off to get it going!”

They wanted the first event to be smaller still, but Victoria’s requirements for tattoo events meant the venue was slightly bigger than planned. There are 80 artists and 30 retail vendors selling handmade art and wares, plus tarot readers. “Keeping it small also means that we’ve been able to curate a very specific showcase of artists and small businesses, prioritising quality over quantity.”

What they changed

“We did so many things differently and everything with intention.”

There are no competitions. “We didn’t want to create any sense of hierarchy or competitiveness between artists.” Jake Straat, whose Rainforest & Reef Invitational in Cairns was another recent addition to the smaller-expo circuit, made the same call. “You know what comps do for our industry? They divide us,” he told GOOD DAMAGE.

There’s no alcohol. The event runs for two days instead of three: “We know expos are so overwhelming and demanding, we wanted to create a calmer, intimate and more personal environment.” Every booth is a double, so “single artists applying can make a friend and feel more involved.”

Then there’s the noise. Coil machines and rotaries in every booth, conversations over the top of them, a main stage, and portable speakers at either end of the floor competing to drown each other out, Parkway Drive on one side and Wu-Tang Clan on the other.

It’s an environment that can be a lot to take in, even before the crowds and bright lights. In January, the Tamworth Country Music Festival introduced free earplug stations for people with sound sensitivity or neurodivergent needs. The New England Times reported on the initiative, introduced by Kennards Hire and Tamworth Regional Council.

The Coven has a dedicated sensory space, developed with Therapy Shmerapy, a mental health service with peer counsellors. Therapy Shmerapy gave “extra professional advice to create this zone” and will be there over the weekend “to monitor and support the space.” It will have free earplugs, beanbags, over-ear headphones, diffused lighting and fidget toys.

Helen and Carly say the reason is personal. “As neurodivergent people we also know how overwhelming & overstimulating it can be at huge expos.” They want to “normalise having a space like this where you can advocate for your sensory needs, as this is something that most neurodivergent people have been made to feel ashamed for.”

The rest of the access work came out of their own experience and some research. “We are members of these communities ourselves.” They did “extensive research, talking to friends and other artists as well as drawing from our own personal experiences.” The venue is wheelchair accessible, there’s plenty of seating and a craft station, and there are accessible tickets for First Nations and Carer/Companion card holders. A charity raffle will raise money for Trans Youth, First Nations and the Red Heart Movement, which works against domestic violence towards women.

They also spoke with a First Nations consultant to organise a Welcome to Country by Traditional Owners and Elders, and reached out to First Nations organisations including Deadly Sports Plus, an Aboriginal and LGBTQIA+-led charity and first-aid provider that helps train queer and First Nations people in first aid.

“We’re privileged to be able to create, work and live on this land and want to use our platform as much as we can to promote and raise awareness for organisations and charities that are doing amazing work.”

The industry

“The industry has definitely evolved, slowly. We see more openly queer artists, more women and more diverse unique styles evolving. We see more women opening and running studios and more transparency between tattoo artists to push for the growth of the industry. We have better less provocative entertainment at expo’s and a genuine desire to do better and grow.”

“However, we see these because we make a conscious choice to pay attention to it. It feels like there is a bit of a divide in the industry; artists who have an old school mentality which is very much the rockstar attitude, and those who are focused on community and uplift each other to enjoy our amazing industry.”

They still hear “the same stories of apprentices being taken advantage of, clients being forced into designs they don’t consent to, accountability getting excused and platforms given to unsafe people.”

“And don't even get us started on tattoo schools and AI use, that shit is ridiculous and we absolutely hate it ahah.”

Applications have come in from artists who rarely do expos, particularly queer, gender-diverse and women artists, who told the organisers they’re making an exception because previous events haven’t felt right for them. Some will be attending their first expo.

Helen and Carly want the industry to understand that there isn’t one way to run an expo, or one kind of person who belongs at one. Tattooing crosses demographics, but the imagery used to sell it can still be narrow. Women, allies, queer, neurodivergent, disabled and First Nations communities are a huge part of the industry, they say, and they don’t want to be “forgotten about in the Tattoo History books.”

What comes next

Success for year one? “Honestly, we’ll call it a success if it just goes ahead smoothly!” They say they didn’t get into it to make money; they want people to have a good time and leave excited for the next one. They also know there will be plenty to learn and improve.

And in five years? “Ideally we’d love it if we could take The Coven interstate and become an annual expo over multiple cities!” They might want it to grow without losing its intimate charm and become a well known household name, and they’d like artists from across the globe to travel to Australia for it.

The first Coven opens in Melbourne this weekend.