PORTRAIT Lawra Meschi, from Vence, takes part in the first edition of the L’Oréal Fund for Women competition and hopes to “change things” with her videos
26-year-old artist Lawra Meschi, originally from Vence, lives now in Paris. — N. Gerardin
- Lawra Meschi, social media star, has been selected to be a finalist in the first edition of the L’Oréal Women’s Fund competition.
- She presented a video that talks about street harassment with the assault of a woman by a man.
- The 26-year-old artist uses videos and humor to “raise awareness of certain causes” in his community on his channels.
Lawra Meschi does not necessarily need a competition to gain notoriety. With more than 850,000 subscribers on YouTube, 250,000 on Instagram and 1.3 million on TikTok, the artist from Vence, in the Alpes-Maritimes, is already a success. quite popular. But at 26 years old, she decided to participate in; the first edition of Urban Shakers, a competition from the L’Oreal Fund for Women, which focuses on the fight against gender-based and sexual violence.
“The theme particularly touched me, says the young content creator. I have two of my sisters who have already been victims of sexual harassment and I thought it was important to fight against them. my way.” This Wednesday, she will present a video on this subject in front of an audience of 600 people and a jury. She has been selected among 500 candidates and will be in the final with eighteen others.
“I’m proud to have come this far,” she exclaims. I didn’t expect it because everything I’ve done since I started has been behind my camera. I can’t see live reactions. There, we go from the virtual to the real so ç was inevitably a little bit scary.”. But for her, whatever the results, she will have seen that her “content touches” and “react” and, “that’s all that matters.
Speaking out with humour
Born in Cagnes-sur-Mer, Lawra grew up in; Vence until’ his 18 years. She “always loved make videos,” she recalls. She affirms, moreover, that she only knows how to “express herself’ through the image”. After a year of courses at Paris, she decides to work with the aim of buying her own equipment. “I started on Vine then YouTube. My thing, in addition to directing, is really humour,” she says. Six years later and a “big community”, she can finally make a living from her passion. “I think it’s great to have the freedom” to do what I love and that’s what I also try to convey as a message to everyone. through my content,” she elaborates.
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In “digital storytelling” whom she presented to the cast of the L’Oreal Fund for Women, she humorously denounces street harassment and sexual assault. “My goal in making this video, posted a year ago, was to open the eyes of would-be abusers by making fun of them, says the artist. When such an event happens, one only thinks afterwards about what happens. everything we could have done and I tell myself that çit can also give strength to the people who watch who would have been victims.”
Reaching “a wide audience”
Sexual assault, harassment at work and also inclusion are “subjects that affect her” and which she talks about on these channels. “With the tone of humour, I’m trying to bring a bit of levity to it” to highlight these themes which are heavy but this does not mean that I do not take them seriously, on the contrary. I stage them in the hope that çit can reach a large audience thanks to; my little notoriety [it gets millions of views], and that eventually things change. And then, I have the impression that this way, it’s sometimes easier to raise awareness about certain causes.” His next video will talk about cyberbullying.
If she wins the final, she will become “ ambassador  ;” of the cause of the competition and will collaborate with associations acting in the fight against sexist and sexual violence, in addition to artistic support. “It would be an honor for me,” she said. I could continue to make videos to talk about these kinds of subjects but also get started on other artistic works that I have started.” She also makes sounds but also short “action” films, especially with one of her stunt sisters.