08/17/2026
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‘Clippers tightened fades. Oils nourished tresses. And conversations about life, liberty and justice filled the air. Barbershops and hair salons have always been spaces where Black entrepreneurship boomed, offering services that cultivated looks and fostered community. Barbershops and beauty parlors became a natural gathering place to stay connected to culture and ideas. The Southampton African American Museum, housed in the building of Southampton’s first African American historic landmark, was one such space. And now, it revisits those entrepreneurial roots with its latest exhibit, artist Damien Davis’ “Hedges and Edges: Barbershops, Community Gardens, and the Architectures of Care.”
Presented by Hamptons Black Arts Council, which was founded by artist, curator and writer Storm Ascher, Davis’ exhibition explores the social histories of Black barbershops, salons and community gardens as spaces of care, maintenance, ritual and collective gathering through sculpture and live activations.
“Growing up, there was a barbershop adjacent to the church I grew up in. So, we would almost always get our hair cut there“ Davis shared with EBONY. “What I loved about that space, which is also similar to the museum, is that it was a barbershop/beauty parlor. So, it was Black men and Black women caring for themselves.”’
✍🏽 Delaina Dixon 🙏🏽
