Tucked into a busy street in Hollywood, inspired visitors with its event focused on Black Creators and Entrepreneurs at Casita Hollywood. Featuring events like a coworking space for aspiring creators, after parties and game nights, and interactive panels, HBO’s pop-up was an exciting celebration of creativity, diversity, and rising talent.
We started off the afternoon with delicious matcha lattes from their complimentary coffee bar, and settled into the warehouse-type panel space to hear from Quinta Brunson, Raven “Ravie B” Varona, Iddris Sandu, and Blue the Great about their various creative pursuits. From designing exclusive Jordans to photography to tech design, the panelists shared their diverse experiences, how they realized their passions in life, and got to where they are now.
Between panels, we got to explore a vibrant marketplace outside with vendors selling homemade greeting cards, skincare, repurposed vintage clothing, and much more. After learning about the local artisans’ products, we tuned in to another panel conversation, this time about breaking into the recording industry – established and emerging creatives had valuable insight to share.
The 3-day celebration left guests inspired to persevere during their own careers, and see minority representation in major LA communities.
Jackie Gagne, VP of Multicultural Marketing at HBO, shared that HBO is “proud of the many powerful and inspiring discussions that took place at HBO’s ‘Our Stories To Tell’ activation this past weekend in Los Angeles. In hearing from our participants and attendees, it confirmed the need for more relatable and diverse storytelling and HBO is proud to continue to create programming that is not only entertaining but representative of our culture and community. We hope to expand this experience beyond Los Angeles to other cities and continue to highlight the stories our audiences want to see.”
