My Role: Creative Director, Lead Producer

Challenge

Max and its LGBTQ+ community platform, Human By Orientation, set out to activate during Art Basel 2023 in Miami with a clear mission: harness the power of Max’s LGBTQ+ content and characters to support and uplift the local queer community—particularly in the face of Florida’s escalating anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including a ban on public drag performances in the presence of minors.

We needed to make a meaningful impact locally while ensuring the activation resonated nationally, driving engagement through real-world community experiences and high-impact digital storytelling. Our goal was to blend immersive in-person interactions with compelling content, culminating in a feature-length narrative video that would bring the artistry and humanity of drag to life.

Strategy & Execution

I led both the creation of the activation and the direction of the featurette, designing an experience that seamlessly wove together live engagement and cinematic storytelling. The activation mirrored HBO’s We’re Here, where communities are introduced to drag through personal transformation. Executing both elements simultaneously required precise coordination across talent, production, partnerships, and content strategy.

The centerpiece of the activation was the “Art of Drag” Pop-Up Truck Tour, featuring live performances, mini-makeovers, a video booth, and custom giveaways at two of Miami’s most iconic drag venues—Palace South Beach and R House Wynwood. R House, in particular, held special significance, having been at the center of the legal battle over Florida’s anti-drag legislation.

I led the creative development, production, and execution of the activation—sourcing every drag artist and partner, crafting the activation’s visual and experiential design, and overseeing all storytelling elements to ensure a cohesive, high-impact experience. Among our 10 featured queens were Latrice Royale (We’re Here, Season 4) and Morphine Love Dion (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 16), who helped shape an event that blended artistry, advocacy, and entertainment.

Simultaneously, I directed the featurette, which required managing live event logistics while crafting a controlled, cinematic narrative. The film was shot inside our custom glass-walled mobile dressing room, wrapped in original campaign art by non-binary illustrator Mithsuca Berry. This became both a symbolic and literal stage for transformation, as we followed two full-makeover subjects—including Equality Florida Board Co-Chair Jeff Delmay, a trailblazer in Florida’s LGBTQ+ rights movement.

I oversaw every creative and production decision, from costume and wig selection to scripting, talent direction, and production design. Partnerships also played a key role: I secured Trixie Cosmetics to provide product sponsorships, powering over 50 free mini-makeovers, while custom-designed clack-fans featuring Max titles like The White Lotus and Trixie Motel created further touchpoints for engagement.

Executing both a large-scale experiential activation and a full-length featurette in real-time required meticulous planning and adaptability. By seamlessly balancing live production with narrative storytelling, we ensured that the featurette did more than document the activation—it became an emotional, standalone piece of content that amplified the experience for a global audience.

Results

584M+ total impressions
$2.5M+ in social media value
250K+ feature impressions via Out.com & affiliates
3K+ YouTube views, plus native Reels across multiple partner channels

6 Shorty Impact Awards, including:
Winner in Arts & Culture
Gold Honor in LGBTQ, Entertainment & Special Project

Beyond numbers, this campaign solidified Max’s position as a steadfast ally in an era where queer visibility is under siege. The Art of Drag Featurette remains a perpetually discoverable signal of support to LGBTQ+ communities nationwide.