Gift giving is an act of love. Sadly, though, the financial pressures of the holidays can make this festive season feel like a time of anxiety, rather than one of warmth and generosity.
That’s why Kiehl’s—the skincare brand which has been providing hydration and joy since 1851—is centering the creative spirit this holiday season, organizing a series of out-of-home activations and public art displays that elevate the joyous, creative elements of the holiday season.
Notably, Kiehl’s is working with two major street artists to give the gift of art to neighborhoods from coast-to-coast. Kiehl's is teaming up with New York City’s own Lady Pink who has emblazoned Kiehl’s’s Hells Kitchen storefront with her own signature visual language, and Tristan Eaton, who lent his own unique stylings to Kiehl’s in Santa Monica.
Lady Pink’s art piece is a continuation of a lifelong project of expression. Born in Ecuador, and raised in New York City, Lady Pink’s earliest work could be seen on her architect father’s blueprints. In 1979, she joined the City’s growing graffiti subculture as one of the only female artists in the male dominated scene.
“Street art is often romanticized, but this line of work isn’t glamorous,” Lady Pink shares. “At the beginning of my career, I would paint in various different locations around the city (like the subway) and I used to have to wade through garbage and rats to get to and from the site of my artwork.”
Despite those hardships and challenges, Lady Pink knew that self expression was the only path.
“[When] I discovered I had this gift, I knew it was my duty to create,” she says.
Lady pink has since shared that gift all around the world, painting murals across the globe and exhibiting her fine art in major artistic institutions around the world.
Lady Pink’s collaboration with Kiehl’s is a vibrant, green and pink mural on the Hells Kitchen storefront. But her unique visual world made it inside the store too, with Lady Pink transforming a rack of Kiehl’s products into her own color-filled canvas that’s displayed prominently inside.
In addition to gifting these vibrant murals to local communities, Kiehl’s has also provided delightful surprises this holiday season via a jolly performance in Grand Central Station and by handing out exclusive, pre-loaded, limited-edition MetroCards across NYC (2,600 free rides), just before the iconic Cards phase out at the end of the year. To top off the joyous celebration, Kiehl’s invited graffiti artists to offer personalized graffiti gift sets at three Kiehl’s locations.
These activitations—all deeply human and inspiringly creative—speak to the real essence of the holidays and gift giving. The holidays, after all, are about spending time with loved ones and the joy of giving gifts, be it a small present in a box or a piece of creativity straight from the heart.
This article is a collaboration between Kiehl's and PAPER
