Palm Springs Tattoo Arts Festival
A three-day Villain Arts tattoo festival at the Palm Springs Convention Center bringing hundreds of artists, live tattooing, and daily contests to the Coachella Valley.
Event details
- Next edition: May 2027 (TBA)
- Venue: Palm Springs Convention Center
- Location: Palm Springs, CA
- Organizer: Villain Arts (Troy Timpel)
- Founded: N/A
- Frequency: Annual
- Attendance: Thousands over 3 days
- Artists / booths: Hundreds of artists
- Tickets: Day and weekend passes are sold by the organizer. Pricing for this show was not published at our last check, so check the official site.
- Tattoo competitions: yes, judged categories run across the weekend
- Website: https://villainarts.com/shows/palm-springs-ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villainarts
About
The Palm Springs Tattoo Arts Festival takes place each May at the Palm Springs Convention Center, filling the desert resort city with three days of live tattooing, juried contests, and a sprawling vendor floor. It is part of the Villain Arts touring circuit run by Troy Timpel, the world's largest tattoo-festival organizer, which means the Palm Springs edition draws the same caliber of traveling artists and the same competitive judging found at the company's biggest events.
For artists working across the Coachella Valley, Inland Empire, and greater Southern California, the festival offers a concentrated weekend of walk-up clients, head-to-head contests, and direct access to supply vendors and shop owners. Pulling that much industry foot traffic into a single desert venue makes it a high-leverage stop for building a book and a reputation.
What to expect
- Hundreds of tattoo artists working live across three days
- Daily tattoo contests with trophies in dozens of categories
- Featured guest artists from the national Villain Arts circuit
- Stage entertainment including sideshow and burlesque-style acts
- A full vendor floor of supplies, apparel, art, and jewelry
- Walk-up tattooing available throughout the weekend
Best for
Southern California and Coachella Valley artists wanting desert-market exposure
For artists: booths, applications, hours
A booth is $750 for a 10x10 space where two artists can tattoo at once. It includes three badges (two artists and one assistant), two 6 ft tables, four chairs, electricity, a sharps container and distilled water. Payment is a half deposit invoice, then a final invoice; cancelling needs email notice at least 30 days out.
Approval requires a completed apprenticeship, two years of shop experience and a solid portfolio, via the organizer's online artist registration form. The booth page calls artists invitation only, so approval sits with the organizer. No license, health certificate or insurance requirement is published. A $100 minimum per tattoo is enforced and clients must be 18 or older with government photo ID.
The 2026 edition ran May 29-31 at the Palm Springs Convention Center: Friday 2PM-11PM, Saturday 11AM-11PM, Sunday 11AM-8PM, with load-in generally Thursday 12-6PM and Friday 9AM-2PM. Visitors paid $25 a day or $50 for three days, with no charge under 12. Contest entry is $10 and sign-ups close 15 minutes before judging.
Sales for 2026 have ended and Palm Springs is absent from the published 2027 lineup. The venue lists parking at $10 a day plus a $0.65 on-site QR fee, and the official hotel was the Courtyard Palm Springs on a Marriott group link.
Notable: Set in the heart of Palm Springs, a marquee Southern California resort destination.
How we check this listing
We last confirmed these details on 2026-07-06. Dates and prices are taken from the organizer and change between editions, so treat the organizer's own page as final before you book travel or a booth.
Checked against: https://villainarts.com/shows/palm-springs-ca/, https://villainarts.com/shows/, https://villainarts.com/faq/, https://villainarts.com/policies/, https://villainarts.com/2027-lineup/, https://villainarts.com/tattoo-contests/