On Friday, August 23, 2024 Outer Limits Tattoo and Museum will host an open house, inviting the community to learn more about Long Beach’s tattoo history and the importance of having a tattoo art museum, located in Long Beach, CA.

Outer Limits shop owner Kari Barba is a founding board member of the Tattoo Heritage Project, a 501(c)(3)  nonprofit raising funds and awareness to create the first national tattoo art museum, Tattoo Heritage Museum.

Most Long Beach natives know the tales of The Pike, a popular amusement park established in 1902. Some know the Pike at one time had the highest concentration of tattoo artists of any port city in the United States. Few understand the significance of what this means in terms of the influence of the American style of tattooing, and how Long Beach has helped the style travel around the world.

Tattoo Heritage Project was formed by tattoo legend, Good Time Charlie, who worked at The Pike in the early 70’s, and spent much time in the tattoo scene there from the late 1950s to 1975. In 2020, he was approached by three staff members from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles to lead the charge in establishing a museum dedicated to the art of tattooing.

Kari and Charlie, along with co-founding board members Jack Rudy, Chuey Quintanar, Corey Miller and JD Crowe, are championing the idea of establishing this museum throughout the tattoo community. They are also working towards that goal by engaging the city of Long Beach and other Long Beach based partnerships in conversation as to how to achieve this goal.

Recently joining THP, new board members include JC Chelser, Juan Puente, Antonio Mejia, Sam Belkin, Carlos Torres, Hanky Panky, and Kevin Johnson.

Many tattooers have responded and shown support by throwing fundraisers, most recently Happy Sundays and Fear City Tattoo in Long Beach, CA., on August 24 and 25, 2024. Fear City Tattoo will be hosting a two day tattoo walk in event. Various artists gather together for two days of tattooing for the cause. 50% of all income from tattooing will be donated to the Tattoo Heritage Project.

Join us on this special evening. Docents will be on hand to share Long Beach tattoo history, and a community’s effort to build the city’s tattoo art museum.