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Access requirements
Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
About This Event
This event takes place in Gallery 3 at Whitechapel Gallery, which is not wheelchair accessible.
This activation lasts 3 hours.
Haircuts are free of charge, but you must book an appointment using this event page. There are a limited number of 6 haircuts available during the event.
If you are no longer able to attend, please cancel you ticket. We will operate a small waitlist on the day for any no shows.
This event is suitable for those over the age of 16
Transport
To the best of our knowledge, there are no planned disruptions to local transport on the date of the event.
Our nearest train station – Aldgate East Underground (1 min) is not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are Whitechapel (15 min), Shoreditch High Street (15 min) or Liverpool Street (15 min).
Free parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the top of Osborn Street in the pay and display booths for an unlimited period. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
ALL HAIRCUT APPOINTMENTS ARE NOW FULLY BOOKED. WE WILL OPERATE A LIMITED WAITLIST ON THE DAY AT THE GALLERY 3 SPACE WHERE THE BARBERSHOP IS HELD.
Paying homage to the sounds and communion within the barbershop, Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) invite Kellon Bubb into the heart of the gallery to be their Barber-in-residence for the evening, offering free cuts sound tracked by a history lesson of your choice.
Here we consider the barbershop as a point of musical discovery and political discussion.
A place where the rhythm and percussion
of clippers and conversation,
or the predictable nature of your barber’s favourite radio station,
Soundtrack transformation.
Please, pick a station to accompany your participation.
*Content warning: please note that some episodes may contain mentions of violent histories.
For those not getting a cut, we invite you to sit down, relax, and listen along with us in the barbershop.
Each haircut will be allocated 30 minutes. Available appointments are 6pm, 6.30pm, 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm, and 8.30pm.
There are only 6 appointments during this Late which must be booked online in advance. If you are no longer able to attend your cut, please cancel your ticket. We will operate a small waitlist on the day for any no shows.
The B.O.S.S. barbershop is part of our specially curated Late with Black Obsidian Sound System which accompanies our current exhibition Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker.
I am Kellonkutz. I was born into humble beginnings in the beautiful Caribbean Island of Grenada, where I discovered my love and passion for Barbering.
Relocating to England I decided to further my skill set at a local college, obtaining NVQ level 1 & 2 qualifications in hairdressing without realising how much this would change my life. It has now been over 20 years working as a professional barber and over 10 years working with the LGBTQ+ Community as I continue to grow and master my skills.
My ambition and dedication to barbering has landed me some amazing opportunities; on sets for Theatres, TV shows and Advertisements, with celebrities, athletes and well-known influencers.
Barbering is not just a job for me, it’s my passion and my craft, it’s a way of life. It’s the joy I feel enhancing and putting a smile on the faces of my clients everyday, because we all know that a fresh haircut/hairstyle can and will change your whole mood. So I take pride and joy in delivering exceptional services (which sometimes include free therapy!) to each and every one of my clients, making sure they leave with a smile every time.
Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) was established in the summer of 2018 with the intention of bringing together a community of queer, trans and non-binary Black people and people of colour involved in art, sound and radical activism. Following in the legacies of sound system culture they wanted to learn, build and sustain a resource for our collective struggles. The black-led system, based in London, is available to use or rent by community groups and others with the purpose of amplifying and connecting them.
B.O.S.S’s work includes renting the system to the community at subsidised rates or for free, technical workshops, live performance events, club nights, art installations and various creative commissions including a short film ‘Collective Hum’ (2019) for LUX & the ICO and ‘The Only Good System is a Sound System’ for Liverpool Biennial (2020). In 2021 B.O.S.S was shortlisted for the Turner Prize and presented an exhibition at Herbert Museum and Gallery Coventry.
Members of the collective include: Adedamola Bajomo, Kiera Coward Deyell, Phoebe Collings-James, Evan Ifekoya, Onyeka Igwe, Marcus Macdonald and Virginia Wilson.
