Asheville Tattoo Arts Festival

Villain Arts places health-department compliance on the booth holder by contract: its vendor policies state the licensee agrees to provide and pay all location and establishment fees, and artists license fees and or permits required by the local health department, and that the vendor agrees to comply with and follow all sterilization standards set forth by local health licensing requirements. North Carolina requires a tattoo artist permit from the local health department for each location where the artist works, and Buncombe County publishes a dedicated guest artist tattoo artist application, which is the mechanism a visiting convention artist would use. Neither Villain Arts nor Buncombe County publishes any statement specific to this convention, and the organizer claims no verification of its own

Vendor policy, circuit-wide, verbatim: "The Vendor, if tattooing on premises, agrees to use single-use needles and inks, use certified sharps container to dispose of used needles, follow recognized professional tattooing standards, and maintain a clean workstation. This includes properly bagging contaminated waste each day for removal and policing the booth area before final departure for any tattooing product or materials." Each booth is supplied with a sharps container, distilled water, a trash bin and liner, and a table with a sanitized vinyl cover. This is a contractual undertaking by booth holders, not an organizer inspection regime

Villain Arts runs a single online consent waiver covering every show on its circuit, and Asheville is one of the shows selectable on the form. Before a procedure the form requires the client's photo ID uploaded front and back, a date of birth and an age entered as a number the form restricts to between 18 and 120, and the artist's studio temporary licence number. It also records the sterilization date or package and lot number used during the procedure, and the source, manufacturer and lot number of the ink. The client certifies being sober, free from drugs and alcohol, not under the influence of any controlled substance, having eaten within the last four hours, and being at least 18 years of age. Aftercare guidance in the form directs the client to consult a licensed healthcare professional at the first sign of abnormal inflammation, swelling or possible infection

North Carolina permits tattoo artists per location through the local health department. Buncombe County publishes a guest artist tattoo artist application at https://www.buncombecounty.org/common/health/guest-artist-tattoo-artist-application.pdf. No permit number for this event is published by anyone