From Pocket to Wall: “Characters Welcome” Covers Tattooed Mom in Sticker Art from Around the World
Philadelphia’s very own International Sticker Art Show returns with a weekend of free workshops, meetups, and a scavenger hunt, all benefiting local youth arts programming.
We are thrilled to announce the return of Characters Welcome: An International Sticker Art Show, opening Friday, October 17, 2025, and running through Sunday, October 19, 2025. Now in its ninth year, this weekend-long show showcases thousands of sticker artists from around the world, with many first-time artists shown side by side with seasoned titans. This year’s event programming includes artist workshops, an all-ages sticker scavenger hunt, a free introductory sticker art class, and more, with all show proceeds donated to local youth arts programming.
Celebrating the street art community, Characters Welcome is a room-filling installation of sticker art that occupies the entire upstairs front room of Tattooed Mom. Kicking off with Opening Night Part I on Friday, October 17, Tattooed Mom will host several workshops with local creators over the weekend before Opening Night Part II on Saturday, October 18, and the Closing Night Party on Sunday, October 19. Budding artists, young creators, and families are invited to join us on Sunday afternoon for all-ages programming upstairs at Tattooed Mom (usually 21+). Collaged boards will be available for purchase along with a special Philadelphia sticker pack curated by local sticker artists, mystery show sticker packs, framed hand drawn stickers, and limited edition tees. All proceeds from Characters Welcome 9 will be donated to youth arts programming at The Village of Arts & Humanities and Fleisher Art Memorial.
Characters Welcome 9 programming includes:
- 5:00pm – 2am • Opening Night Part I (21+)
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm • Let’s Collab: A Sticker Collab Meet Up (21+). @smugsbunny presents a sticker collab hour meet up with some pre-started collabs, plus @dday521’s World Famous Giant Collab on view.
- 2pm – 3pm • Characters Always Welcome: An Artist Talk (21+). Street art photojournalist @ericinphilly talks all things stickers with character based artists @eltoro215, @ffs3000, & @melt.gif
- 3:30pm – 4:30pm • PMSlaps Presents Black Book Buds Swap & Giveaway (21+). A meet up hour hosted by @pmslaps for drawing in and swapping stickers for black books. Free special edition mini black books to the first 30 attendees.
- 5:30pm – 2am • Opening Night Part II (21+)
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm • PMSlaps Presents Sticker Scavenger Hunt (ALL AGES). @pmslaps takes you on a scavenger hunt to find artists & characters on the walls of Tattooed Mom. Find them all and you could win a prize! (kid and big kid versions).
- 2pm – 3pm • Stick Up Kids! (ALL AGES). Join @aaronteachesart for a FREE make and take activity inviting kids to create their own mini T-Moms wall using novelty stickers and art from some Characters Welcome All-Stars!
- 3:30pm – 4:30pm • Sticker Art For Kids of All Ages (ALL AGES). An all ages sticker workshop with @bydivij for the next generation of storytellers & street artists.
- 5:30pm – 11pm • Closing Night Party (21+).
As Philadelphia’s Unofficial Street Art Museum, sticker artists have been meeting, drawing, and putting up work at Tattooed Mom long before what they were doing was ever called “street art.” Instead of spray paint or wheatpaste, sticker artists use stickers as their medium, which can be easily traded with other artists, carried in a back pocket, or slapped onto a flat surface. Honoring the strong hand drawn, character based sticker culture of Philadelphia’s sticker art scene, Tattooed Mom called its inaugural 2012 sticker art show “Characters Welcome,” but so many different forms of sticker art are represented within the show every year: hand drawn, screen printed, stenciled, collaged, stamped.
Photos from past shows as well as sneak peeks from this year’s exhibition can be seen on Characters Welcome’s Instagram. We hope to see you at the show to celebrate the amazing medium of sticker art while supporting youth arts programming in Philadelphia!
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