Halsey Invests In Black Art With Launch Of #BlackCreatorsFund Initiative

After taking to the streets to protest with the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the police killing of George Floyd, singer-songwriter Halsey is using her platform to fund and promote black artwork with the Black Creators Funding Initiative.

“Looking for black creators who want to enrich the world with their work,” she said in her announcement of the project. Blasted to Halsey’s 32.9 million followers combined on Instagram and Twitter, the international callout for creators “of any kind”—including poets, graphic designers, filmmakers, music producers and journalists—to showcase their work on social media did not specify how much money would be awarded.

Participants can tag their posts with #BlackCreatorsFund to be considered, and the “first gifting recipients” will be revealed on June 18th, according to the announcement.

“We want to see your work and want to help achieve your goals,” the announcement reads. “In addition to funds, the artists will be promoted on [Halsey’s] socials to help launch their platforms and we will help provide resources, information, and points of contact, for as many people as we can.”

The 30 Under 30 alumna recently made headlines for treating police brutality protesters injured by rubber bullets in Los Angeles. “My father is a black man. My mother is an EMT,” she wrote in an Instagram post describing her experience giving medical assistance on June 1. “This week I had to put those two associations together in ways that have horrified me.”

But Halsey is no newcomer to activism. Since she became a household name in 2016 following the explosive success of her certified Diamond duet with The Chainsmokers, “Closer,” the popstar has vocalized her advocacy for sexual assault survivors and marginalized communities through social media, poetry and song. Her third studio album, Manic, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in January, tackled her tumultuous journey of living with bipolar disorder.

The Black Creators Funding Initiative is Halsey’s latest effort to maximize her platform for a cause.

“That’s the best thing about being a musician,” Halsey told Forbes in 2017. “You get to constantly show the world how you’ve changed and how you’ve grown. And you get to say, ‘Hey, look at me, look at how much better I am now than I used to be.'”