Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Hahn.
Gabrielle, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in Phoenix in the late ’80s, messed around a lot in the punk scene. Tried college for a bit, but ended up moving to the Bay area instead of where I fell in with the vibrant alternative queer scene populated by writers, poets, artists, and musicians. As the tech beast moved in around ’96, tons of us were forced across to Oakland and beyond. I ended up in New Mexico for a bit, and finally back to Phoenix, where I landed a tattoo apprenticeship. When I finished, I relocated to the PNW, first Seattle, then Bellingham, Washington, and finally a small college town in Oregon. At this point, I’d been tattooing seven years and was looking for other directions I could expand into. I decided to return to school, so I put tattooing on hold except for random guest spots and spent the next five years obtaining a BFA in printmaking. At this point, a few friends and I opened a multi-disciplinary, private studio where I continued to tattoo by appointment. Last year, I followed my wife here to Boston where she has worked.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I tattoo at Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo 374 Centre Street Jamaica Plain and when time/space allows, I work in relief and screen printing, I print everything from shirts to edition prints to patches and packaging. I’m really inspired by music and graphic art elements. There is also a definite crossover between my tattoo influences of traditional and Asian art and my printmaking.
My favorite thing about printmaking and the reason I got into it is that it provides people, who otherwise may not be able to own original art the accessibility to it. Prints in multiples challenge the very idea that art is sacred, rare, and exclusive.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
Yikes! It can be very true that being an artist is a solitary pursuit. I was fortunate to have a multi-use, cooperative studio in Oregon. Tattooing puts me around tons of people every day, navigating a myriad of requirements. so, on a certain level, I feel fortunate that I can look forward to going home and doing art in peace and quiet.
Making art in a city can be challenging. High costs and scarcity of space make maintaining a studio prohibitive for young artists. and, that’s a real shame, because the creative cauldron that comes with cooperative studio space is, I think invaluable. I’d recommend making the spaces you need, even if that’s a meet up at a coffee shop. Create mentoring situations, communicate and organize. Vacant retail spaces can sometimes be made into short term pop-ups… explore crossovers and intersectional situations. It’s really about networking and pushing out beyond your comfort zone.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Most of my tattoo work can be seen on my Instagram @paniccity, and you can always come to get a tattoo! I schedule appointments through my email gavihahn@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Address: Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo
374 Centre Street Jamaica Plain
- Email: gavihahn@gmail.com
- Instagram: @paniccity
Image Credit:
Gabrielle Hahn
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
