Directed and produced a special feature for NHK WORLD spotlighting internationally acclaimed artist Theaster Gates. Filmed across Tokyo and the historic pottery town of Tokoname, the episode explored Gates’s unique fusion of African-American identity with Japanese folk craft, revealing deep cross-cultural connections often left unspoken. Through intimate interviews, studio visits, and poetic visual sequences, the show unpacked Gates’s philosophical approach to art—one that elevates everyday materials, celebrates cultural memory, and seeks beauty in utility.
The production highlighted his engagement with Japan’s Mingei (folk craft) movement, reflecting on how its principles resonate with the Black experience and his broader artistic mission. More than a profile, the program served as a visual essay on tradition, reinvention, and the shared human impulse to create meaning through craft.
This special aired on NHK WORLD and is no longer publicly available.
