For thirty years, the all-female vocal group Kitka has performed music rooted in Eastern European musical traditions. In a recent trip to rural Ukraine, they studied Slavic folk songs that previously existed only in the memories of an older generation of local women. Spark joins Kitka as they rehearse and perform a new performance based on the songs and stories that were passed down to them.

Next, the mixed-media work of Santa Cruz artist Victoria May is inspired by the intricate process of custom dress-making. A former seamstress by trade, May now makes sculptural textile pieces that blend traditional hand sewing techniques with evocative and unexpected materials.

Then, in a special collaboration with The NewsHour, Spark presents an investigation into the arts and the economy. How are local artists coping with the economic downturn? Some scholars and activists think hope lies in government support. What can we learn from the historic WPA programs that provided employment for 8.5 Million Americans during the 1930s?

San Jose’s Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra offers Chinese American youth a chance to learn to play the traditional instruments from their ancestral homeland. Spark joins the 100 member orchestra as they accompany the famed Shaolin monks to create a new composition.

Next, follow environmental artist Daniel McCormick as he creates a new site-specific, temporary sculpture in the wilds of West Marin. His biodegradable woven forms are helping to rehabilitate threatened watersheds and prevent creek bed erosion.

Then, artist Jaime Guerrero translates imagery from his Mexican heritage into blown glass.

Spark joins renowned visual artist Kerry James Marshall as he creates new murals in the atrium of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Like much of Marshall’s work, the murals will explore racial identity, urban experience, and the impact of the Civil Rights movement.

Then, Dan Hoyle, son of famed Bay Area performer Geoff Hoyle, works on a new one-man show based on his travels across small-town and rural America, and the people he met along the way.

Next, Ben Levy and his modern dance company, LEVYdance, collaborate on a new work based on a previously untold family history.

Spark goes inside the world of bhangra, a traditional Indian dance that’s been revitalized by a generation of young Indian-Americans. Teams of bhangra lovers merge time-honored moves with hip-hop beats, and travel around the country to battle it out at heated competitions.

Then, visit the Contemporary Jewish Museum, dedicated to exploring Jewish art and culture, for an exhibition that asks artists from various backgrounds to make objects inspired by the ceremonial Passover seder plate.

Next, the music of The Crooked Jades harkens back to an old time musical era infused with a decidedly modern attitude.

Spark follows photographer Katherine Westerhout inside a forgotten West Oakland landmark — the 16th Street Train Station. Once the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, this Beaux Arts gem has been off-limits since 1989, but that might be about to change.

Next, comedian W. Kamau Bell shares his wry observations on race and his personal stories about being black in an Obama-era America.

Then, meet Wil Blades, a virtuoso at playing a soulful instrument from a bygone era, the B3 organ.

Spark looks at the legacy of modern dance pioneer and San Francisco native Isadora Duncan, and one of her biggest fans, Mary Sano, who came to the Bay Area from her native Japan to dedicate her life to the preservation of Duncan’s work.

Then, we join Ron Nagle, whose love of both ceramics and rock and roll has led his artistic career in very different directions.

And visual artist Sandow Birk takes puppetry to a whole new level in his filmic adaptation of Dante’s epic “The Divine Comedy.”

Spark visits with Wayne Thiebaud, whose paintings of common, everyday objects such as cakes, pies, and gumball machines, rocketed him to fame in the 1960s.

Then, we join singer-songwriter Vienna Teng as she returns to the Bay Area for a homecoming concert. Teng’s piano ballads have won her a passionate following around the world, and she returns to perform for her loyal hometown fans.

Also in this episode, modern dance choreographer Janice Garrett creates a revealing new work for her company’s 5th anniversary season.