Tommy Solis, better known as Tommy Solace, is an artist and entrepreneur from Kankakee. He is famous for his music and tattoo work. At 23, he co-founded Downtown Tattoo, a walk-in shop in Kankakee's downtown. By 29, after nearly 15 years tattooing, he started Art & Sol, a private, high-end tattoo studio focused on a calmer, personal experience.

Tommy also directs, films, and edits music videos and short films for local artists, and offers graphic design services. He is an active writer and performer in hip hop groups like Ill State and Luck of the Draw, and the band All the Cool Molecules, which mixes hip hop, rock, and funk. He also performed in “The Rossini Project,” blending hip hop and opera for the Chicago Fringe Opera.

Having been helped by art himself, Tommy aims to support and inspire Kankakee’s next generation of artists, especially at-risk youth, while promoting the local arts scene. In 2021, he helped start the Kankakee Estival Festival, an arts event. This success led to the creation of C.I.R.K.A (Collaborative Initiative to Revive Kankakee’s Arts), which hosts annual events like the Estival Festival, Teen Talent Takeover, and April Grooves Day.

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Owner/Artist at Art and Sol Studios in Kankakee, Il

Co-Founder of Kankakee Estival Festival

CIRKA board member.

1/4 of Keyz Collective

1/3 of Ill State

1/2 of LOTD