Best of Friday
- Best healed tattoo
- Best black & grey
- Best new artist under 3 years
Contests
Show your
best ink
Two competitions across three days — the tattoo contest and the art contest. Categories are judged live on stage each evening, and entry is open to anyone working at the convention.
The jury
Meet the judges
The panel that scores every category on stage — all of them working artists in their own right.
Tattoo contest
Categories by day
Each category places 1st, 2nd and 3rd — except Best of Show and Best Collaboration, which award 1st place only.
Best of Saturday
- Best blackwork tattoo
- Best small — up to A4
- Best asian tattoo
- Best fineline tattoo
- Best lettering tattoo
Best of Sunday
- Best large — bigger than A4
- Best neo traditional
- Best collaboration
- Best of show
Art contest
Paint, spray, compete
The art contest runs alongside the tattoo categories, with the same three core awards every day and one extra on Sunday.
Friday
- Best graffiti mural battle
- Best painting — up to A4
- Best MTN train art
Saturday
- Best graffiti mural battle
- Best painting — up to A4
- Best MTN train art
Sunday
- Best graffiti mural battle
- Best painting — up to A4
- Best MTN train art
- Best truck bombing art
The rules
Competition conditions
Read these before you enter. Our official judge applies them on stage, and they are not negotiable once the category starts.
- All tattoos entered into the contest must be started and finished in the convention area. There is an obligation to finish the piece during the convention. Finished or healed tattoos can be registered into a different category, and artists cannot make touch-ups to healed tattoos — no exceptions.
- Tattoo models must be present during registration.
- All tattoos entered into the contests must be performed by artists in attendance at the convention.
- Artists can register in each category with only one tattoo.
- Healed tattoos can only be registered into the Healed Tattoo category.
- Both the tattoo artist and the collector must be present to receive their trophies. Awarded artists cannot leave the convention area until the reward is delivered.
- Photographers from tattoo and lifestyle magazines will be present to photograph contest winners and participants. Urban Art Fest Malaga reserves the right to publish these photographs for promotional and documentation purposes. All artists confirm this in advance.
- If the number of applications to a category is below 5, the category will be cancelled.
- Each category has 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, except Best of Show and Best Collaboration which award 1st place only. A collaboration may have two or more winners depending on the artists working on the client.
- Judges are allowed to check fresh tattoos with gloves. Tattoos cannot be cleaned on the stage during the contest.
Disqualification
Two ways to lose
- Any tattoo found not to be following the rules will be disqualified at the line by the official judge on stage.
- Any artist found exploiting the rules or loopholes will be disqualified — even after the convention.
Enter at the desk
Registration is at the contest desk on the floor. Get there before your category starts — you'll need your model with you.
See the timetable