„Arbeit am Kopf“ | "Work on the Head"
An Interdisciplinary Intervention and Campaign
in Defense of Democracy with the help of Hairdressers
‚Arbeit am Kopf‘ (Work on the Head) seeks to translate the surprising research findings of Oxford climate scientists Dr. Sam Hampton and Dr. Briony Latter into practice. The two discovered that hairdressers can influence people‘s thoughts and actions more effectively than science itself.
If this often underestimated and underpaid profession—with its unique capacity for empathy, listening, and communication—can, as if in passing, also nurture the inner beauty of our society, could it save the climate and our democracy alike?
“Help us quickly mobilize this untapped potential! Inform your hairdressers and your community about the immense power of salon conversations. Encourage everyone to consciously use these one-on-one dialogues to defend our democracy or for constructive climate discussions. Thank you for your invaluable contribution to our collective ‘Arbeit am Kopf’ (Work on the Head).” (Excerpt from the campaign flyer)
Program: Salon opening with ad-hoc haircuts | free workshop “Competent Against Right-Wing Rhetoric!” for hairdressers and more (State Agency for Civic Education BW / LpB) | Project presentation, Annual General Meeting of the Hairdressers‘ Guild | Open gathering in the salon
Kindly supported by BB Stiftung
Photos Slider : 1 - 5, 8, 10: Martina Geiger-Gerlach © VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 6: © Lothar Heinrich, 7: © Dominique Brewing, 9: privat
"Arbeit am Kopf":
A keynote presentation
for Hairdressers‘ Guilds, Vocational Schools and more | 2026 :
an interdisciplinary art intervention, and the communication training programs provided by the State Agencies for Civic Education. Inquiries: martina@geiger-gerlach.de
Read the non-academic report: Dr. Sam Hampton/Dr. Briony Latter:
"Hairdressers as ‘everyday influencers’"
Read the paper in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications:
Images: Dominique Brewing
„Arbeit am Kopf“:
The information booth | 2026
Photo tableau 30 cm x 126 cm (C-print on Dibond, wax-sealed), second-hand vanity table, cosmetic mirror, vase, flower, campaign flyers
