This past weekend, one of AYON Studio's projects, Movement Research, located at the 122 Cultural Center, was featured as part of Open House New York Weekend, an annual festival that provides access to the best of New York City’s design, culture, and infrastructure by opening 300 sites across the city for tours, talks, and exploration. The event was also part of the LES Arts & Culture Open House, organized by Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc), which invited visitors to chart their own route through more than 20 Lower East Side arts and culture organizations.
On Saturday, October 17, AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón joined Movement Research staff to welcome visitors into the dance studios and experience them for their intended purpose. Participants dropped in on sample class sessions in somatic practices, providing them with the opportunity to experience movement in their own bodies. Our thanks to Movement Research, Open House New York, and FABnyc for putting on the event.
Founded in 1978, Movement Research, one of the world’s leading laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms, spent roughly four decades scattered in different facilities across NYC before moving into the 122 Cultural Center in 2019. In 2017, AYON Studio began working with Movement Research to provide programming, space planning, budgeting, and architectural design. Once the organization took over all three spaces, AYON Studio further assisted the organization with reconciling their space needs and budget with a phased implementation of the proposed renovation.
The renovation transformed two ground floor spaces as rehearsal studios. An additional ground floor space was subdivided into a new vestibule, creating a resource room and lounge, and we designed and installed new ceiling treatments along the ground floor corridor that connects the two studios. We further established a distinct identity for Movement Research by installing new signage on the second-floor public spaces.