Tattoo Artists Around the Nation Are Standing Up to Tattoo Schools

Tattooers Are Fed Up With Corrupt Tattoo Schools—Here’s What You Need to Know

A few weeks ago, we put out an article on tattoo schools, however, after speaking to artists, Myke Chambers, Eric Perfect, and Chad Knight, we learned that these scammers are much worse than we ever imagined. If you believe that tattoo schools are out there in doing good in the world, well think again because the tattoo industry will tell you otherwise. Chambers, Perfect, Knight, and several other Philadelphia artists recently staged a peaceful protest against the Academy of Responsible Tattooing (a.k.a A.R.T), a chain of tattoo schools called “Body Art and Soul” that has been growing rapidly in numbers. They promise prospective students that they will become successful artists in a mere nine months, just as long as they shell out cash for the program. They believe that tattooers don’t need to go through an apprenticeship to work in the business and that a school is their best possible option. However, as these artists will tell you, this couldn’t be further from the truth. A.R.T is a pyramid scheme at best, a scamming agency employing to prey on ignorant prospective artists who have been “burned” in the process of getting an apprenticeship. They’re charging students upfront for a tattoo education and instantly blacklisting them from working at any tattoo shop beside the ones set up for the schools. They are manipulating impressionable people looking for a career change that tattooing will make them rich and famous—when really, the people running this company have no understanding or respect for the tattoo industry. However, tattooers are working to put a stop to the madness that is A.R.T and it’s time that the public learned what these schools are really about.

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