Embodied Discovery  A film by ZORA ft. Laurel Charleston

Laurel Charleston is the 10th and final recipient of the QMoDA 2023 Artist Grant. She is a groundbreaking artist using makeup as a medium. Her canvases have graced magazines, musicians, and celebrities, but through it all, Laurel has stayed true to her unique vision.

A multidisciplinary artist whose work spans the cosmetic, digital, and high fashion sectors. An internationally published makeup expert, Charleston"s oeuvre references cultural allusions as disparate as calligraphy and epidemiology, exploding industry-wide notions of "wearable" beauty with plenty of glamour to spare.

Charleston"s work has been featured on the covers of Dazed, Harper"s Bazaar, and THEM, and appeared in the pages of Vogue, W Mag, New York Times, PAPER, Allure, and Tush, among other outlets. 

Best known for her ground-breaking cosmetic designs on pop sensation Doja Cat for Paris Fashion Week of 2022, Charleston has expanded her celebrity roster to include the likes of Normani, Dylan Mulvaney, and Teyana Taylor, alongside luxury clientele like Macys, Coach, Instagram, Bombay Sapphire, Steve Madden, LOreal, POLO Ralph Lauren and Farfetch.

Charleston has also made her mark in the Metaverse by producing and curating a first-of-its-kind exhibition called "SuperTrans", a traveling gallery show that showcases trans artists from all over the world. 