‘A form of activism’: Regina tattoo artists ink for a cause

WATCH: A Regina tattoo artist is hoping to leave a lasting mark through a fundraiser aimed to assist planned parenthood. Hallee Mandryk has the story.

Boo Radley Tattoos has hosted a unique fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Regina for the last five years. It’s an organization which is close to the hearts of the many participating tattoo artists, especially Dylan Block, the senior artist and co-founder of Boo Radley Tattoos.

“I was in a really bad way, health wise and Planned Parenthood, they were the first people that ever believed me and they ended up referring me to my doctor, who would later become my surgeon,” Block said.

“So that was a life saving surgery for me. I’ve had no symptoms ever since then. So to repay the favor that Planned Parenthood did for me, I started doing this fundraiser.”

The event is centered around Valentine’s day, and the participating artists create various flash art, which are pre-drawn tattoos for folks to choose from, that relates to the theme.

The fundraiser started out with just Block, but soon attracted the help of other artists.

Three different shops took part in this year’s event - with Block noting the fundraiser means a lot not only to him but also his team of talented artists.

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“Art and tattooing in general is as a form of activism to stand up for the things that we believe in so I think that’s really important ... It does make me feel very proud of myself and of the community to see that we’re all on the same page with this,” Block said.

It’s a passion that is certainly appreciated by the team over at Planned Parenthood Regina.

“It’s one of my favorites that happens every year. We’re always so thankful, to the team at Boo Radley and particularly Dylan, for just going year to year,” Julian Wotherspoon, executive director of Planned Parenthood Regina said.

“It’s something that we look forward to and something that I know our clients and our community looks forward to as well.”

The funds themselves also go a long way.

According to Wotherspoon, core funding only covers about 40 per cent of their operations, and donations are crucial in maintaining the services offered.

“It just gives us so much freedom and so many more resources to do the work that we’re doing, whether that’s providing barrier free access to sexual health care or providing community education about sex and sexuality, or doing the advocacy work that we do, to destigmatize, sexual health,” Wotherspoon said.

Events like the fundraiser are particularly meaningful to Block, as he has a strong passion for advocacy work. For the artist, being able to make a difference through his other passion of tattooing is a win-win.

“Speaking as, like a trans person, we kind of have that same battle that we’re fighting for bodily autonomy. We’re seeing things happening. In America, in the United States, how things are being rolled back. And, I’m hellbent on preventing that from happening here,” Block said.

Art comes in many forms, and Block shared that the ability to share his advocacy though tattooing is something he is proud to be a part of.

“There are definitely a few particular designs that I would be thrilled to have people let me tattoo on them ... Some of my designs are very bold though, so I don’t always get to tattoo the ones that are a bit more out there,” Block explained.

“But every now and again I get to do one of those and I really, really enjoy those.”