MECCA's M-POWER announces Karen Black as their 2025 Holiday Artist

MECCA’s holiday campaign packaging has become as iconic as the limited-edition gift releases adorning their shelves, many of which are trickling into store now and instantly covetable. Each year, the beauty powerhouse - along with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) - chooses an artist of significance to collaborate with, who will create the artwork that adorns the iconic boxes and bags destined to be placed under Christmas trees across Australia and Aotearoa. This year, they’ve chosen a talented woman from Queensland – Karen Black, whose work brings colour and connection to MECCA’s 2025 Holiday campaign.

In support of its annual program championing women in the arts known as M-POWER, MECCA has chosen Black as its 2025 Holiday Artist in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Driven by MECCA’s social change movement, the M-POWER collaboration marks a decade of the retailer’s holiday artist series, a tradition that brings together beauty, creativity and cultural storytelling in bold and unexpected ways. The fact that the powerhouse beauty brand has also previously acquired Black’s work for display in several of their Australian stores makes the partnership even more organic, which I love.
For this milestone year, Karen brings her expansive approach to painting and sculpture, layering portraiture, abstraction and figuration to conjure worlds alive with colour, movement and emotion. Through her work, she shines a light on women’s stories, exploring the joy, power and complexity of their experiences. Her practice navigates the shifting boundaries between what is real, remembered and imagined, creating spaces that invite connection and transformation. This makes the inspiring artist perfect for a collaboration with MECCA, with connection and transformation also closely associated with acts of beauty and self-care, however you practice it.

The campaign itself is anchored in the idea of Beauty All Around, where every detail, from wrapping paper to limited-edition products, is elevated with artistry. This vision comes to life through Karen’s expressive brushstrokes and symbolic use of colour woven through collectible packaging and in-store installations, transforming each gift into a work of art. For Karen, colour itself carries powerful symbolism: red can give energy and love, while blue embodies reflection. These themes and motifs run throughout the collection, ensuring every ribbon, box, and fold becomes part of an artistic celebration.
On what the partnership means to her, Karen said: “It’s incredibly special to see my work come to life in this way — to move from the studio into people’s everyday lives. I’ve always been drawn to women’s stories, their resilience, their energy, and the balance between strength and vulnerability. To have those ideas translated into MECCA’s world of beauty feels deeply connected to what I paint about — colour, emotions, and memories. I hope that when people see or unwrap these pieces, they feel inspired to create, to share, and to find beauty all around them.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to championing women in the arts, MECCA has also proudly funded the acquisition of Karen Black’s Glider (2024) for the NGV’s permanent collection. This initiative ensures her vision continues to inspire well beyond the holiday season, embedding her legacy within one of Australia’s most significant public art institutions. The works are now on view at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia through March 2026. 
Karen Black’s artwork will feature across MECCA’s 2025 Holiday campaign beginning tomorrow, appearing on collectible gift boxes, bags and cards and also MECCA COSMETICA’s limited-edition sets, as well as in over 100 store windows across Australia and New Zealand, and digital touch points reaching millions.
I always look forward to seeing who MECCA will create with next, and with Black it’s most definitely a match made in beauty heaven.