Lean Gilliam is a New York-based artist and daughter of Washington Post reporter and columnist Dorothy Gilliam and artist Sam Gilliam. Her experimental work consists of new and digital media, including the use of film, computers, and video installations. She addresses the issues, of race, gender and identity in her work, and credits the abstract work of her father as an influence. Unlike her father's approach to creating art, Leah describes her creative process in three phases: the "pre-visualization" phase, the "hatching" phase and the final phase of actually producing the work.