Wednesday, August 7, 2019

The Tarek Chemaly x Beirut Pride collab: the gift that keeps on giving

In 2018 I teamed up with Beirut Pride to release a campaign under the #loveislove idea. The campaign has zero budget. It was released on their insta, mine and my blog. Here is the text that appeared with it below:
"Beirut Pride is teaming up with Lebanese artist Tarek Chemaly to bring you a celebration of the 14 degrees of love in the Arabic language leading up to Valentine's day. In a world that makes it a sports to bully, harass and belittle anyone who is not standardized, it is good to remember that love comes in all shapes and forms, so to anyone who feels something special to any other individual, regardless of race, gender, or whatever "attribution", this one is for you."
I was told the campaign still is trending today, people sharing and resharing it, it appeared on goods by Retrieving Beirut, and it was a backdrop at the Disney Magical Pride event in London earlier this year during Hadi's conference (Hadi is the kickass behind Beirut Pride!). What touches me the most is how a campaign done on a shoe string budget on Paintbrush (not even photoshop!) can still resonate so deeply with people.