De Beers’ lab-grown diamond jewelry brand Lightbox is asking Instagram users to express their LGBTQ Pride in a playful and poignant way this year—and in the process, raise funds for an important cause.
The Instagram initiative, which debuted last week, invites people to create original sidewalk chalk drawings in support of Pride Month, then post them with #ExpressYourPride. Through today, the brand is donating $50 to youth LGBTQ organization the Hetrick-Martin Institute for every posted sidewalk creation that’s tagged #ExpressYourPride and tagged with the @LightboxJewelry and @HetrickMartin feeds. The brand will donate up to $30,000 to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which is the oldest LGBTQ youth organization in America.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, sidewalk chalking has surfaced as an unexpected symbol of support, love, and human connection. Friends and loved ones leave messages for one another in driveways and on sidewalks, posting them to Instagram and other social platforms.
To help kick off its #ExpressYourPride initiative, Lightbox tapped DJ duo and sisters Coco and Breezy, stars of Lightbox’s new ad campaign for its just-dropped 2 ct. stud earrings. The social stars created and posted a drawing in celebration of Pride on their feed.
Lightbox also commissioned three notable illustrators— Monique Wray, Shanee Benjamin, and Terence Tang from Tinlun Studio—to create original chalk drawings for the project (see Tang’s creation at top). Celebrities including Alan Cumming, Reggie Bullock, Connor Franta, The Blonds, and Sai De Silva also posted sidewalk chalkings (some are marked as paid partnerships, others are not).
Cumming’s husband, illustrator Grant Shaffer, created an original cartoon in chalk that mixed rainbow-colored faces with “HMI” for Hetrick-Martin Institute, which he posted on his feed. The actor wrote, “The road ahead may be long but we won’t get anywhere if you don’t #ExpressYourself and always have #Pride.”
Top: Chalking drawing by artist Terence Tin-Lun Tang of Tinlun Studio (image via @tinlunstudio)
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