Evan Ross Murphy paints, sculpts, and also sometimes gives free haircuts to his friend, Mark. “He like knows my hair totally now,” said Mark Escribano, who was trying to keep his head still for another free haircut while also holding a Tecate beer in his right hand.

Last weekend, complete strangers trusted Murphy, who is also a freelance barber, with their hair, as well.

People crowded inside the Actual Size Los Angeles art gallery in Chinatown, waiting to get their hair trimmed, shaved, or completely re-styled. The haircuts were done by a group that included professional stylists, hobby stylists and professional artists.  

Some patrons carried drawings in hand of what they hoped their hair would look like after the cut.  

The upside was that the haircuts were free, and gourmet popsciles were on sale for $3 outside. The downside was that the gallery owners could not promise salon-quality. “We’re not starting a hair salon. This was just an experiment,” said Lee Rachel Foley, co-owner of Actual Size Los Angeles.

Foley has been running the gallery with Justin Greene, Samia Mirza, and Corrie Siegel since mid-April.  What sets it apart from others, Foley said, is the creative events they host to accompany the visual art.

This month's Katie Herzog show, for example, will close on August 28th with an appearance by real, live dogs. Children will then be encouraged to read to the dogs. 

The point of events like this, Foley said, is to help visitors understand the artist's work better. Rather than give the gallery owners all the control, the artists are the ones who get to come up with the idea for the event.  

Last weekend's free haircut event, however, was not meant to promote any one artist or show in particular.

Foley estimated that at least 20 people got free haircuts that afternoon.

“I’m very poor and the prospect of a free haircut is too much to pass up,” said David Malki, a professional cartoonist.

Foley said it was nice to cater to different members of the community, beyond just the art crowd. “We got a surprising amount of people who actually came for haircuts,” she said.