Interview with Allison Newsome

Screenshot of Allison Newsome during the Innovation Showcase interview.

Jay Sugarman talks with award-winning sculptor Allison Newsome and collaborator and arts advocate Carolyn Kraft.

Jay has a show called Innovation Showcase on NEW TV, which features and highlights a range of groundbreaking efforts throughout the state. The main purpose of this ongoing series is to inform viewers about exciting innovations and creative individuals across the fields of business, science, technology, education, and the arts.

Allison is the creative force behind RainKeep and SolarHearth—innovative sculptural works that harvest rainwater, utilize solar energy, invite people to gather, and turn everyday environmental concerns into shared experiences of beauty and stewardship.

Carolyn commissioned the very first SolarHearth for her property in Vermont, where every bird, tree, and motif in the piece was inspired by the landscape around her. She also helped launch site-specific shows at Kennard Park, and through her work with Friends of Kennard Park has been instrumental in bringing some of Allison’s earliest rain-harvesting sculptures to the public.

During the program, Allison and Carolyn will share how their collaboration began, how art can change the way we relate to water and climate, and what it takes to bring visionary environmental sculpture into real neighborhoods and parks.