Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316563
world takes place in the grit of 190s Manhattan, where the style embraced the red, white and blacks of the decade and the audience begins to see Mia embrace the underground artist's world that existed in the city. These environments also provided an opportunity to underscore the infl uence of a new generation of African American artists like Basquiat and the emerging hip-hop culture. Playing in these decades added another exciting dimension to an already exciting, if less fl ashy, period piece. Another interesting aspect of the show was that the character of Mia is an artist in her own right, and much of the story focuses around the artwork that she creates. In order for this work to feel authentic, the team met with local Black female artists, eventually landing on Connie Trevino Martin. This collaboration was a new experience on many levels. Kerry Washington was not only playing the role of Mia but was also an executive producer on the show. She had been taking photography lessons for months, and was involved in every step of the process from choosing the artist to the fi ne-tuning of the art. Connie came with her own take on Mia's art that involved adjusting some of the artwork in the script as well. The showrunner began to lay out the number of beats, the emotional impact each art piece needed for a scene, and allowed Connie and the Art Department to adjust the work accordingly. Later, we would walk Kerry through all the technical details so she could authentically recreate it on camera. This process was clearly demonstrated after a fi rst read of the script, which described one piece that involved creating a complex wire- A. MIA'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM. SET PHOTO. B. MIA'S HOUSE, KITCHEN. SET PHOTO. C. MIA'S ARTWORK BY ARTIST CONNIE TREVINO MARTIN. SET PHOTO. Jessica Kender, Production Designer Brian Grego, Art Director Albert Cisneros, Shengxin Jin, Morgan Lindsey Price, Jubilate Cox, Assistant Art Directors Arthur Chadwick, Kelly Hogan, Rhea Rebbe, Set Designers Steven Milosavleski, Kim Papazian, Vanessa Riegel, Graphic Artists Lisa Clark, Set Decorator A B C