Producer’s Blog: A Duo of Duos on The Art Show

Thank goodness for sugar cookie lattes.

It’s only a couple of weeks into the New Year (my tree is still showing no signs of coming down) when I’m thrown back into the thick of The Art Show. We’re featuring a duo of duos in the same episode (a coincidence, for the record), and I’m in charge of producing both segments.

We’ve got two awesome pairs spotlighted in this month’s episode of The Art Show, premiering Saturday, February 21, at 6pm on CET / Sunday, February 22, at 5:30pm on Think^TV16. We start in Cincinnati with brothers Gift and Romain Mayambi. Gift is an artist who wields paint, pen, and/or Sharpie to turn massive canvases into technicolor homages to home and heritage. Romain is a photographer who renders the Cincinnati landscape into backdrops for all his mesmerizing concepts, from boxers in front of Union Terminal to individuals wearing traditional masks in Kenwood Mall. Yet both portfolios are vivid and full of visual complexity, oftentimes paying homage to childhood memories and broader cultural heritage. 

Gift and Romain are also self-taught, and, pretty soon, both will probably be too famous for us to schedule them (remember us when you make it, guys!).

We then travel to Columbus to meet 2025 Ohio Heritage Fellows Ty and Masami Smith. The married couple, tribally enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon, are the directors of the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO). Through community gatherings and initiatives like their Land Back NAICCO campaign, Ty and Masami are working tirelessly to preserve Native American heritage for individuals who’ve relocated away from their families, tribes, and homelands.

And it’s not a tribal-specific organization (remember, there are 574 federally-recognized tribes) –they estimate over 100 tribes have been represented within NAICCO. Ty and Masami are sustaining a space where these individuals and their families can continue to live their heritage.

In the last two months, these two individual projects have sent me pinballing across Columbus, Dayton, and my beloved Queen City. Let me walk you through the day of filming:

The pandemonium kicks off as audio engineer Cory and I hop into the CET production van and head up to the ThinkTV studio for an interview with Marjorie Sarver, a NAICCO member.

Following a quick lunch at station-favorite Tony & Pete’s (and a Coca Cola that I foolishly thought would be enough of an afternoon pick-me-up), we expertly avoid traffic and hightail it back to Cincinnati for a b-roll shoot with Romain.

But when Cory stops at the station to trade places with videographer Zach, I feel a little woozy. The hour-long commute has apparently been enough to lull me to the brink of sleep in the passenger seat (it could have also been that T&P sandwich I demolished but can’t confirm).

Red Tree Coffee in my line of sight, I scuttle across Central Parkway in desperate need of sustenance. Not too sleepy for a little holiday joy in mid-January, I’m brought back to life with their Christmas Cookie Latte (topped with red and green sprinkles – the holidays don’t go down without a fight). And, coincidentally enough, during our b-roll shoot in his LINNcinnati studio, Romain’s model is Hatsue, the Red Tree’s Gallery Curator. 

If this sounds at all overwhelming, rest assured – this is actually my favorite kind of production day: efficient, productive, and a little serendipitous. We took full advantage of the day to get important items crossed off our segment to-do lists, tapping into both our Dayton and Cincinnati crews (and our unofficial station coffee shop).

Featuring this duo of duos was a learning experience for me as a producer. Aside from balancing chock-full production schedules, I had to make sure I was giving these distinct stories justice. Producers tend to lean into a certain production “style,” so I wanted to make sure I didn’t spring for similar music, framing, or format for these back-to-back segments.

While I’ve conducted remote shoots as far as Cleveland, planning for a Columbus shoot still presented its challenges. For our interview with Ty and Masami, Cory and I met ThinkTV videographers Richard and Joshua in Columbus and had to be sure to wrap everything up in a timely manner to account for the traffic getting back to our respective cities. The videography team also had to make some separate visits to NAICCO – Richard to tape their 2025 Fall Harvest Feast, and Richard and Joshua to get footage of the building and Ty and Masami at work. We also want to shout out our public media compatriot, WOSU producer Carrie Beyer. Carrie conducted an interview with OSU professor, David Julian, for this segment, saving us a long drive when schedules were already tight. 

Coordination was also key for Gift and Romain. We couldn’t tape them talking about their art without showing them making it, but Romain only had so many photo shoots scheduled where we could tape, and Gift works a 9-5, painting in the evenings after he clocks out for the day. Fortunately, Romain was able to get a shoot on the books with us, and Zach and I taped Gift during an evening of painting.

We also carved out time to film a morning interview with them in their studio.

As far as I know, this is also the first time CET has been provided with breakfast from our featured guests, instead of vice versa. Gift, Romain, Joyce, and Benny clearly know the way to a production team’s heart – caffeine! Many thanks to them for the incredibly warm welcome (and for introducing us to Dunkin’ Donuts’ “stuffed bagel minis”). 

But these separate stories did have an overlap that really stood out to me – all four individuals are not originally from Ohio. Gift and Romain are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, having lived in Zambia and Zimbabwe before moving to Cincinnati, and Ty and Masami were born and raised on their reservation, having moved to Ohio 30 years ago. Yet all four of these individuals are making significant strides in the arts and culture sectors of our state, efforts that are worthy of celebration. And, as a part of these efforts, they’re tapping directly into their heritage. 

I caught this duo of duos at what I see in retrospect as important junctures. Gift and Romain are becoming well-known names in Cincinnati, hosting and participating in exhibitions across town and continuing to churn out striking work (not to mention the thousands of views and followers they keep amassing online). Ty and Masami have long surpassed the fundraising goal of their Land Back NAICCO campaign, and hope to soon have a nature-focused, dedicated space to continue their initiatives. It seems like all are on the cusp of another exciting new chapter in what have already been extensive success stories. 

And, here at The Art Show, it’s an honor to not only capture these moments, but to follow individuals’ progress even after the episode airs. It certainly gives “stay tuned” a whole new weight. 

Nadya Ellerhorst
CET/ThinkTV Producer 

To watch this episode, tune in on Saturday, February 21, at 6pm on CET or Sunday, February 22, at 5:30pm on ThinkTV16. You can also stream episodes of The Art Show anytime on the PBS App and watch segments on our YouTube channel. Learn more: https://www.thinktv.org/theartshow/.