Haircuts by Children, and Other Evidence for a New Social Contract

The idea of eliciting full participation of children in all aspects of society may seem far-fetched and will spark debate. O'Donnell puts this idea into practice in his work. He is the artist behind Haircuts by Children, a collaborative piece that is exactly what it sounds like and that has been performed internationally: http://mammalian.ca/projects/#haircuts-by-children (The haircut recipient in the lead photo is Coach House founder Stan Bevington!) He currently has projects implementing the ideas in the book in Germany, UK, and the US. And he is working on a succession plan to pass his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, on to children he's been working with since they were nine. He's now working to help others adapt their practice in the same direction.He's active in the both the Toronto and international artistic communities and has access to a number of well-known visual and literary contacts and festival organizers.O'Donnell authored a protocol for collaborating with children that won an award in 2012 from the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of the Child.