Inside Lena Waithe & Rishi Rajani’s Stylish L.A. Production Office
Today AD is welcomed into the warm and colorful Los Angeles office of Hillman Grad Productions, the company founded by writer-producer-actor Lena Waithe and her production partner Rishi Rajani.
Named for the fictitious historically Black college featured on “A Different World,” Waithe and Rajani have built a platform for BIPOC talents to take center stage in their own stories - and an office environment that reinforces their creative pursuits at every turn.
The reception area is anchored by a massive vintage Steve Chase sofa that designer Amie Mays reupholstered in burgundy velvet, while graphic and prismatic wall coverings catch your eye wherever it lands.
One wall in Waithe’s private office is covered in a salon-style hanging of images of trailblazers like Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Shirley Chisholm, Oprah Winfrey, and Prince.
“Black artists have always addressed the realities of living in a house that is burning,” says Waithe on the topic of making protest art in the era of Black Lives Matter.
“Our job is to remind people how the fire started, why it continues to burn, and how we might contain it.
You see that mission written in the Black and brown faces that cover our walls.”
- What up, AD?
Welcome toHillman Grad Productions.My name's Lena Waithe.- I'm Rishi Rajani.- And welcome to our offices.[upbeat hip-hop music][camera shutter clicks][air whooshes]Well, right now we arein the waiting area.I've had to sit in a lot of waiting areascoming up for general rolesand all that kinda jazz,so we kinda want it to beslow, smooth, a cool vibe.You can relax and justfeel like you're at home.And usually we have a loop ofjust really cool Black cinema,TV moments playing there with some score,so you have a little ambiancewhile you're chillin'.We have some posters from our projects,and we obviously have a lot of work.This artist's name is Pinda.And then one of our favorite artists,Adrienne Muse, did a lotof panel work on the walls.The Queen Mother, Miss Whitney Houston.Well, I really want it to feel warm,you know, to feel warm, to feel cool,to feel modern, and to be colorful.We want it to feel more likeyour cool aunt's living roomthan a waiting area.[bright hip-hop music]- This is our reception area.It's where our interns hang out.- These are some cozy chairs.If you're gonna be heredoing research all day,you wanna feel like you're at the crib,you wanna feel comfortable.Also, too, I think thewindow kinda gives yousome natural light.We really wanted theoffice to feel like homeand not like an office.An office is a place you want to leave,and I think home is aplace you can be creative,you can kick your feetup, and you can vibe.[percussive music]Welcome to the conference room.We spend a lot of time in here.- It's the nerve center of the office.Pretty much everyone whocomes into Hillman Gradfor a meeting will sit in these chairs.We talk about projects.We watch cuts up on thisbig TV screen up here.- We wanted this room to feel bold,and with this pattern on the wall,it feels very Black, very strong.And this piece is by anamazing artist, Nawaz Julien.I was actually gonnabuy this for my house,but I felt like it mademore sense to go here,the history of it and what it's sayingabout Black people and the media,and who we've had to be,and who we're becoming.And these are just two amazingpieces by Malik Roberts.When you have art by Blackpeople on your walls,their art can inspire you.It can spark an idea, it canspark a sense of creativity,and it just changes the wayyou walk into the space.- And there's always a sense of excitementwhen people walk into ourspace, and that's really coolto see, because generally, when you walkinto the Hillman Gradoffices, you're artiststhat we want to work with.- Mm-hm.- For us to be sort ofpeople that are preachingthis idea of protest art, thatwe're changing the system,that we're shifting thingsand breaking things,we want our office to reflect that.[bright, brassy hip-hop music]- This is usually [laughs]where my assistant would sit,'cause my office is right there.- The offices of aproduction company can alwaysbe a very hectic and busyplace, and so we wanteda tone that was a little bit more calming,so we decided on the green.- And this is more work by Adrienne Muse,beautiful paintings ofour icons, our heroes.Adrienne Muse happens tobe a queer woman of color,or queer Black woman, rather.I've become an avid collector of her work,so it's only important that her workis on the walls of this office as well.[percussive hip-hop music]This is our kitchen.I think a kitchen atany office is important,[Rishi laughs]'cause people snack, man.You have to.I'm not getting paid for this,[bag rustles]but this is my favorite.Also, I'm a fan of these guys,and Doritos, 'cause it is what it is.And then I'm a person that'sa fan of juices and stuff.I know there's not enough water in here,but what are you gonna do?- Our designer Amid did a great jobin terms of making surethat even as we presentedcreative ideas and things that we wanted,that there was an overallkind of one cohesive look.- Welcome to the office.This is where all themagic happens, maybe.I'm a person that doesn't get a lotof the creative stuff done in the office.I do some more business side of things.We're talking about deals, we're talkingabout the status of certain projects,But the creative for me,I usually write at home.I usually get that kindastuff done at the crib.But I really like this space,and I wanna have plant life around,to have some natural light come in.It's just about remaining inspired.I love a good couch, asectional is always good.It's hard to find a small one.[laughs] You spend alotta time on your butttalking and figuringshit out, so you shouldat least be comfortable andstylish at the same time.A lot of my art, I started to collect,and to me, these imageswere just really powerfuland just representativeof, really, Black youthand our future and whatwe need to pour into themand really, what they pour into us.It's important to remember why I do itand what keeps me going.These are people that livedlife on their own termsand made the rules as they went alongand didn't fit into a box.That, to me, is the greatestinspiration that I can have.And these are the peoplethat look like me,and some of them comefrom where I come from,and do the thing that I do.Some of 'em are still here in body,some of 'em are still with us in spirit.But it's a wall that I lookat and just am remindedto do me, and to do it unapologetically.[melodic hip-hop music]- This is my office.I spend a lot of time in here,and when the office is empty,it's kind of like my zoneto just get work done,but it's also a place thatI welcome artists into.And it's a combinationof colors that I love,as well as some really coolreferences for me and my life.I grew up watching a lotof "Star Wars," James Bond,and old Westerns, and soI like having it up thereas a reminder of why I gotinto the film business.I think in our work here at Hillman Grad,we reflect a lot ofdifferent kinds of people.I love this wallpaper.I don't think there's everbeen an executive officethat I've been into withas gold wallpaper as this.I thought it was really nice to have that,have a little bit of greenery up hereto just kind of ground me.I definitely do a lot of phone callsjust laying on this couch.I'm like, feet propped up on this side.Lena would always comeand hang on the couchto run through updates.- Mm-hm.Thank y'all so much for takinga tour through our offices.We've really enjoyed having you.Please come back again anytime.You can drink our juice,you can eat our Doritos,whatever you need.But until then, we gotsome stuff to get done,so with that, we'd liketo say peace, peace.- Peace.[Lena knocks on door]- Thanks, y'all.
