Rashaad Newsome Commissioned by Google to Create Immersive Interactive Installation for Gradient Canopy
Rashaad Newsome was commissioned by Google to create Somatic Landscapes, a new interactive digital artwork for Gradient Canopy, Google’s public art initiative exploring the intersections of technology, creativity, and the natural world.
Now featured on Google Arts & Culture, Somatic Landscapes is an immersive, responsive artwork that brings together dance, landscape, sound, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic abstraction. The work takes viewers through a shifting visual environment inspired by Northern California’s natural landmarks, including Big Sur, the Redwoods, Point Reyes, Mt. Tamalpais, and Mt. Shasta. As audiences move in front of the piece, the landscape responds in real time, activating layers of mist, light, foliage, and texture through motion data generated by human dancers.
At the center of the commission is Newsome’s ongoing investigation into the relationship between the body, technology, and the natural world. Drawing on fractal geometry—patterns found in coastlines, trees, clouds, and other living systems—Somatic Landscapes transforms embodied movement into a dynamic digital ecosystem. The result is a work that considers technology not as separate from nature, but as a tool for sensing, translating, and deepening our relationship to it.
The commission extends Newsome’s broader practice of combining performance, AI, animation, music, and social engagement to create new forms of immersive experience. Through Somatic Landscapes, he invites audiences to consider how bodies, landscapes, and algorithms might move together toward new ways of seeing and being in relation to the environment.
Assembly will be screening on PBS’s Independent Lens beginning on June 22 & will be available on the PBS Documentaries YouTube Channel from June 22 – Sept 21.
Rashaad Newsome awarded the Pioneer Works 2026 Music Residency!
Rashaad Newsome has been awarded a Music Residency at Pioneer Works (February–March 2026). During the residency, Newsome will develop new musical scores for upcoming performance and film projects, including I Come As One But Stand As 1,000, Jhol, and Young, Gifted, and Black.
The residency will support focused experimentation and composition, advancing the sonic architectures that underpin Newsome’s interdisciplinary practice across film, performance, and emerging technologies.
Rashaad Newsome 2025 Artist Residency | Public Arts Trust of India November–December 2025
In November–December 2025, Dr. Rashaad Newsome joins the Public Arts Trust of India to conduct research and collaborate with musicians from the local Langa community.
During the residency, Newsome will work closely with Langa musicians to develop new musical compositions that bring traditional instruments—khartal, dholak, Sindhi sarangi, morchang, bhapang, and harmonium—into dynamic dialogue with Western rhythms and tempos. The collaboration explored rhythm, lineage, and collective expression as living systems, emphasizing music as a site of cultural continuity and innovation.
This cross-cultural exchange informs a new film project by Newsome, foregrounding the cultural richness of Jodhpur and India while examining how local traditions evolve through collaboration, experimentation, and shared creative practice.
Rashaad Newsome receives The 2025-26 Lincoln Center’s Collider Fellowship.
Thrilled to join Lincoln Center as a 2025–2026 Collider Fellow! Over the next nine months, I’ll be expanding my explorations of robotics, live performance, AI, and film—pushing them together to shape new theatrical realities.
Through this fellowship, I’ll be researching and developing what theater can become when seen through a Black, Queer, and technological framework—spaces where liberation, futurity, and experimentation converge.
Grateful for the time, resources, and community this fellowship provides, and excited to build alongside my 2025–26 cohort.
Assembly makes its Vancouver premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival October 11 and 12!
Join us for the Vancouver International Film Festival premiere of “Assembly” at International Village 10, located at 88 W Pender St, 3rd floor, Vancouver, BC—October 11 at 10:30 AM and October 12 at 1:45 PM. Assembly promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of the transformative power of collective creativity that you won’t want to miss. Secure your tickets and join us for this exciting cinematic event!
Assembly NYC Theatrical Run — October 10–16, 2025.
I’m thrilled to share that Assembly will screen for a full week at Cinema Village in New York City — October 10–16, 2025.
Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, NY 10003
This run will be more than just screenings — it will be a gathering. Each evening we’ll host conversations with the directors, cast, crew, and community, inviting you into the world that shaped this film.
🎟️ Tickets: assemblythefilm.com
Assembly SFMOMA & Roxie Theater screening, Saturday, October 4 & 5, 2025
Join us for an exciting weekend as we celebrate Black art and culture during MoAD’s Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week!
On Saturday, October 4, at the SFMOMA Phyllis Wattis Theater (151 3rd St), we’ll be screening Assembly from 1 PM to 3:30 PM PDT. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from directors Rashaad Newsome & Johnny Symons in a conversation moderated by Key Jo Lee, Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs at MoAD.
The excitement continues that evening at the **20th Anniversary Afropolitan Ball from 6 PM to 11:30 PM PDT at the Ferry Building! Celebrate with us on the dance floor and immerse yourself in an unforgettable night of culture and community.
Then, on Sunday, October 5, catch another screening at the Roxie Theater (3117 16th St) at 3:20 PM, followed by a conversation with filmmaker Carrie Lozano, President & CEO of ITVS.
For ticket info, visit assemblythefilm.com