Go on a creative journey with choreographer and dancer Erika Chong Shuch from the Headlands Center to center stage.
Explore a language created by modern technology with experimental artist Jesus Aguilar.
Challenge gender stereotypes with printmaker Kathy Aoki.
Experience the animation of M dot Strange.
Learn the secret behind kathak from master Pandit Chitresh Das.
Go behind the scenes with director and playwright Mark Jackson on his production of “American $uicide.”
Meet violinist Midori for a one-night appearance at San Francisco Performances.
Head to Chile with playwright Carlos Baron along with his cast of actors, dancers and musicians from “Poeta Pan.”
Visit Yosemite where Julia Parker is helping to revive the art form of basket weaving.
Get a deeper look at the haunting drawings of Josephine Taylor.
Explore the relationship between jazz and the Japanese American internment with playwright Philip Kan Gotanda and A.C.T.
See why choreographer and dance educator Janice Garrett is attracting the best local dancers and critical acclaim in the Bay Area dance scene.
Meet Jess Curtis and his company Gravity as they work on “Under The Radar.”
Discover the tradition of spiritual music found at Angola State Prison in Louisiana with saxophonist Howard Wiley.
Spend the day with weaver Adela Akers in her studio as she works with painstaking delicacy.
Lend an ear to Marc Bamuthi Joseph, who blends spoken word, rap and movement to tell stories drawn from personal experience.
Hit the streets with graffiti artist Adam5100, who has become a leading stencil artist.
Explore the mesmerizing art of butoh with the members of Salt Farm under the direction of Ledoh.
Follow Caleb Duarte as he gathers materials and prepares for his first solo show in San Francisco.
Meet British painter Susannah Bettag and her “Little Boo” character.
Hear the Del Sol String Quartet rehearse and debut the work of contemporary chamber composers.
Laugh with sculptor David Hevel as he makes fun of pop culture celebrities with his outrageous animal creations.
Join La Familia Peña-Govea, the family band where everyone has a part to play in this musical dynasty in-the-making.
Visit the fine print house Crown Point Press and the many famous artists who work there.
Take a listen as John Santos brings his Latin jazz orchestra the Machete Ensemble to the stage one last time.
Get a backstage pass as Marga Gomez launches a one-person show at The Marsh.
Then meet Manuelito Biag from Shift Physical Theater.
Listen as avant-garde songstress Amy X Neuburg creates a new song cycle with her Cello Chixtet.
Learn patience from ceramicist Shuji Ikeda who fires his woven clay baskets in a kiln that must burn for seven days.
And then meet designer Stanlee Gatti as he creates a floral masterpiece at the Conservatory of Flowers.
Meet the Lawrence Ferlinghetti you didn’t know — you might already know him as a poet, but did you also know that he’s a painter, too?
Then visit Kenyan-born Indian American Shailja Patel as she performs her spoken word piece about migration and personal history.
See how Oakland Ballet artistic director Ronn Guidi comes out of retirement to save the dance company he loves.
And finally see how Rene Garcia Jr.’s glitter portraits shine.
Spark gets around town to hear what’s going on in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. “Old time” is gaining respect from a new generation with the help of The Crooked Jades, who perform American roots music. We get an inside look at the instrument that drives the jazz band with bassist Walter Savage. Miena Yoo writes folk songs that fuse American and Korean elements and spreads her love of music by performing at nursing homes and UCSF’s cancer center. And, the non-profit Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society brings jazz, classical, and world music to Half Moon Bay.
Spark gets an insider’s look at the intricate process of creation and the discovery of one’s voice. Experience Jaime Guerrero working at the Bay Area Glass Institute as he and other glass artists coordinate their movements in order to create his detailed pieces. Lauren Yee and the high school students of the SF Young Playwrights Festival show us the maturity and talent of first-time playwrights as they see their theatrical creations put into performance. The memories of Iranian-Americans are preserved in Taraneh Hemami‘s work as she prepares for ZeroOne in San Jose. Finally, Rebar Encanment project reminds us that a little humor can help in a time of transition as Southern Exposure revamps their gallery space.
Not everyone knows West Oakland to be an artists’ community, but this Spark episode tells the stories of artists who call this area of the East Bay their home.
Critically acclaimed modernist sculptor Bruce Beasley not only shows us the creation process behind his awe-inspiring sculptures but also discusses the area’s development.
Despite a lack of funding for school arts programs, high school students who take part in BUMP, the Bay Unity Music Project, are learning about music production from hip-hop professionals.
John Abduljaami introduces us to his work and regales us with stories about his woodcarvings.
Finally, tag artist ©rude leaves political, African-inspired artwork around West Oakland public spaces.
Spark sought out some performances that might surprise you — ones that are particularly innovative, unique or provocative. Gang Situ integrates Eastern and Western art styles in his opera, “The Grand Seducers,” which is based on Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and 13th-century Chinese literature. Three political actors challenge capitalism and break down barriers between audience and performers with headRush. Matt Davignon introduces us to the world of Bay Area experimental music through Soundwave/Live Play, in an event where musicians improvise to never-before-seen film clips. Also, the all-male a cappella group, Conspiracy of Beards, performs only the songs of Leonard Cohen.
