In the Making

An artist celebrating Black womanhood. A Hawiian poet fighting for Indigenous rights. A jazz musician who’s redefining his craft. Meet eight emerging artists from underrepresented communities who are shaking up their respective fields.

Production

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Trailers & Videos

Thumbnail for video: Trailer: In the Making | American Masters |  PBS

Trailer: In the Making | American Masters | PBS

Seasons

8 Episodes • Premiered 2020

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 1: Damon Davis: Apologue for the Darkest Gods

1. Damon Davis: Apologue for the Darkest Gods

Learn about Damon Davis, a St. Louis native whose work spans illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film, and public art and explores the African-American experience.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 2: Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance

2. Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance

Filmmaker Ben-Alex Dupris explores how the reality and resistance of Native Americans inspires the work of Pawnee artist Bunky Echo-Hawk, igniting discussions about environmentalism and Native American rights, among other topics.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 3: Anik Khan: Street Level

3. Anik Khan: Street Level

Filmmakers Sofian Khan and Joseph Patel explore the music of Anik Khan, the Bangladesh-born, Queens, New York-raised hip-hop artist whose music sketches the immigrant experience with rare poetic flare, incisive depth and a whole masala of influences at his fingertips.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 4: Amyra León: Strange Grace

4. Amyra León: Strange Grace

Filmmaker Malika Zouhali-Worrall provides a portrait of Amyra León, the musician, poet, author and activist who channels deeply personal experiences of pain and healing into raw, majestic, and often cathartic performances that celebrate love, Blackness and womanhood.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 5: Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: This is the Way We Rise

5. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: This is the Way We Rise

Filmmaker Ciara Lacy documents Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, a Kanaka Maoli wahine poet, activist and academic, and her continued work towards justice for Hawaii’s native population.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 6: Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon

6. Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon

Filmmaker Ligaiya Romero explores the life and work of Maia Cruz Palileo, the multi-disciplinary, Brooklyn-based artist who examines themes of migration and the permeable concept of home in her works, inspired by the oral history of her family’s arrival in the United States from the Philippines.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 7: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The New Chief

7. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The New Chief

Filmmakers Amitabh Joshi and Erik Spink spotlight Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, the Grammy-nominated, modern jazz musician from New Orleans who defies the expectations of jazz while challenging how music is taught in universities nationwide.

Still image for In the Making season 1 episode 8: Vincent Valdez: The Beginning is Near

8. Vincent Valdez: The Beginning is Near

Filmmaker Ray Santisteban highlights Vincent Valdez, the San Antonio, Texas-born artist who emphasizes themes of social justice, memory and ignored or under-examined historical narratives in his work.

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