To Hum is Human

Imaginary Worlds, Real Change: The Art of Sunny Allis

Donnabelle Casis

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0:00 | 36:03

In this episode, I sit down with trans/non-binary multimedia artist Sunny Allis (they/them) about imagination as a vital, world-shaping force. Sunny is a prolific world-builder whose paintings, sculptures, puppetry, animations, and immersive environments center joy, community, and connection.

Their conversation explores play as a form of resistance, art as a safe and expansive space for identity and emotion, and the wisdom that emerges from working with young creatives. Sunny also shares how collaboration, storytelling, and honoring the full emotional spectrum, including rage, shape both their art and their life.

Trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and CalArts, Sunny’s award-winning work—including public installations and the bilingual children’s book Hooray, What A Day! / ¡Viva, Qué Día!—invites us to see imagination not as escape, but as a calling, and a path toward more expansive, connected ways of living.

Follow me on Instagram @tohumishuman @sonorous.light555 @thisisdbc

Website: www.sonorouslight.com