SPONSORED CONTENT | Photography by Jess Shada
Salem has no shortage of places to experience art, but at 9th Realm Gallery, the canvas looks a little different.
Located at 172 Lafayette Street, 9th Realm is a custom tattoo studio and art gallery where the emphasis is firmly on artistry. During a recent visit, co-owner LeAnne Londis showed us around the studio and shared the philosophy behind the business she owns with tattoo artists Gabe Londis and Matt Driscoll.
When 9th Realm opened in Salem in 2019, the goal was to create an art-centric tattoo studio: a place where artists had the freedom to develop their craft and clients could collaborate with them on original, custom work.
That philosophy is visible throughout the gallery. Every tattoo artist at 9th Realm practices art beyond tattooing, working in mediums that include painting, drawing, and illustration. Original art fills each private room and the communal spaces, making a walk through the gallery feel less like moving from one tattoo station to another and more like visiting a collection of working artists’ studios.
That approach carries into the relationship between artist and client. Photos, reference images, or sketches are used as inspiration for the development of original custom pieces based on each artists’ style. LeAnne’s advice is to spend time looking at an artist’s previous work, choose someone whose work you connect with, explain what you have in mind, and give them the creative space to interpret it.
Many of the gallery’s artists especially enjoy large-scale custom work, where there is room to develop an idea over time. A sleeve, back piece, or other substantial tattoo can require multiple appointments. For some clients, that process also becomes a reason to travel to Salem. LeAnne told us that many clients come from outside the area specifically to work with 9th Realm’s artists. During our visit, we met clients who had traveled from Utah, and the studio’s proximity to an international airport was actually one consideration when its owners originally chose Salem as their home.
LeAnne tells us that when she, Gabe, and Matt opened the gallery, they wanted to create a place where artists would be encouraged to keep learning, traveling, and developing their work. They encourage their artists to attend conventions, seminars, and other events that connect them with the larger tattoo and arts communities.
Those opportunities have taken them around the world. Members of the team regularly attend tattoo conventions throughout the United States and internationally, including recent trips to London and Lugano, Switzerland. Conventions offer a chance to tattoo alongside other artists, see new work, exchange ideas, and compete, and several members of the 9th Realm team have earned awards for their tattooing. Gabe and Matt are the studio’s most awarded artists, while Carly, Sean, and Jess have also received awards for their work.
The studio is filled with evidence that everyone is still creating and evolving: paintings in progress, drawing stations, finished artwork on the walls, and artists working across mediums when they aren’t tattooing. Each artist has a space that feels distinctly their own, while still being part of a larger gallery and community of working artists.
Wandering the studio, we discovered spaces and details clearly crafted with a premium guest experience in mind. Individual rooms offer privacy and comfort during longer appointments, while heating pads, pillows, snacks, drinks, and even a cheese drawer help clients settle in for the process. Television screens within each studio room may play a cult classic film, or your favorite comedy show. If that doesn’t hold your attention, taking in walls packed with art, action figures, awards, trinkets, and hidden gems will.
If a custom tattoo in Salem is on your wish list, 9th Realm is worth discovering before your trip. Spend some time exploring the artists and their work, find someone whose art connects with you, and start a conversation about what you might create together.
