Over Halloween this year, the former library building played host to a reunion like no other, with eight tattooists from Derby’s legendary Lifetime Tattoo Studio working from the same room for the first time, celebrating the studio’s 25^th anniversary.

Lifetime has been home to some fantastic artists over the years, and I have many happy memories of the studio when it was in Monk St. It transformed the way tattooing was perceived in the city, breaking down the macho, testosterone-fuelled industry as it was at the time and creating an atmosphere that was inclusive, intentionally radical and a hub for creativity. Lifetime stimulated an anarchic, creative regeneration of the Monk St area; above the studio was the first iteration of Dubrek, next door was the brilliant Artsmith Gallery and artist-studio spaces, and The Photo Parlour’s first iteration moved in once Dubrek moved to Becket St. Break some rules and take some risks, and this is the kind of authentic regeneration you’ll get – not the kind of stuff that can be forced, but an honest, creative community. Hackney would’ve killed for something like Monk St in its 2014 peak.

Walking into Lifetime and sitting on their sofa, you never quite knew who you were going to meet; artists, bands, darkroom photographers all seemed to revolve around the reception area and everyone was welcome. I’d been burned a few times in the macho-tattoo atmosphere of Dudley’s shops, so I’d stopped getting work done for five or six years. I’d popped in for a quick Deftones tattoo after a visit to the Photo Parlour. I soon realized that this place was the real deal, and became a regular, working my way through Alex Johnson’s folk-influenced flash sheets. The place never really seemed to close; the lights were usually still on at 10pm, fuelled by a dosa from Nalaas, a bag of chips from Abbey St and the odd beer.

This is the kind of creative community that needs to be celebrated in spaces like ours at Derby Museums. I’d spotted that Ulster Museum had organised to have two or three artists tattooing at one of their gallery lates – including Alex Johnson, now based in Belfast’s Skullduggery Tattoo. I thought it would be a good idea to use Lifetime as a focal point for a larger event at Derby Museums; how might we reunite a big group of artists from a game-changing Derby studio in order to celebrate the impact they had on Derby?

A couple of messages later, and a quick bump into J Fletcher Fallows, and a plan was hatched; a two-day celebration over Halloween, with Well Dressed curating a Halloween party like no other, featuring the live debut of Ghillie Girl and Fruiting Body dropping some incredible folk/drum n bass/rave, and the artists unveiling their flash inspired by the Museums collection. Watching 250 people rave in the museum was a great experience; so too were the torchlit museum tours led by our Volunteer Coordinator, Hope Slater, who the following day had the Nine Ladies stone circle and the Bronze Age log boat in the Museums’ care tattooed on their arms.

There was everything in the flash; from the crow skeleton Marion Adnams borrowed from our collection to inspire one of her key works, to a cottage from a Joseph Wright painting, Derby Porcelain-inspired floral works, insects from our natural sciences collection – to the Museum of Making itself, which I was very moved to see being tattooed on an attendee.

It was one of those weekends that reminds you of the personal significance of the collections we look after. People identify with our museums, and the collections; it is a part of their identity. I’ve heard stories from people whose earliest memories come from a visit to one of our museums; I saw one of Derby’s most exciting artists currently on the scene, Mr The Beef, get the Marion Adnams crow tattooed on his arm; Ben Stone tattooed the King of Rome as someone’s first-ever piece; masonry from the Museum and Art Gallery formed the inspiration for a staff member’s wrist tattoo. Is there stronger evidence for how much museums mean to people than having 80 people with bits of our collection tattooed on them?

25 years and the studio is still going strong – the Lifetime Tattoo Shed is now J Fletcher Fallows’ studio space, and I was chuffed to be J’s first client of the day (a brilliant interpretation of a Ronald Pope sculpture now adorns my arm, above the half-sleeve J finished eight years ago). All in, 500 attendees enjoyed the event over two days, and £6,000 was raised for the Museums – vital funds in this day and age. We became – I think – the first museum in Great Britain to host live tattooing, and I didn’t stop at the Ronald Pope sculpture; it’s not very often I go to a work event and end up with my nose pierced and two new tattoos! I look forward to bringing the event back, bigger and better, in 2026.