Justin Johnson

About

Justin Johnson is a multimedia artist and sound designer whose practice explores audio technology, physical computing, and interactive performance. He creates tangible interfaces for musical expression that make sonic experimentation more accessible and intuitive. With over a decade of experience in partner dance, Justin’s movement practice informs his approach to creating responsive sonic environments and movement-based audio systems.

He is also the founder and director of The Dance Thing, a dance-focused nonprofit arts organization, and advocates for accessible creative tools and arts education. He has worked professionally as a sound designer and audio engineer with IATSE Local 15 and various performing arts companies across the United States

Justin is a current Masters student at NYU Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and holds a BA in Technical Theatre from Hampshire College. He is based in New York City.

Statement

I play with sound and space.

Instruments that move with you. Rooms where the soundscape hangs in the air. Sometimes it is a motion‑controlled synth tuned so it sings at your touch. Sometimes it is an interface that makes remixing as simple as handling an object. In theatre, it is sound that heightens the world onstage rather than sitting on top of it.

I work with generous edges. Constraints that help people engage with curiosity. Well‑defined musical modes, clear gestures, invitations to try something different in how you listen, or in how you move. The work sits between bodies and speakers, between headphones and ears. In dance, you listen first to the music, then to your body, then to your partner; I design sound spaces with that order of attention in mind.

Not everyone arrives in a space with training or confidence. Communities and third spaces built around agency and self‑expression taught me that a room can hold joy, play, grief, honesty if you design for it. That lesson shows up in the things I build and the events I create. It’s in the flow of my music, and in how I invite someone to try, fail, experiment, and have fun with the process.

I ground myself in the mediums I work with: wood and filaments I can shape, code I can reason about, sensors and LEDs I can connect, audio I can hear and feel in a room.

Onstage or off, I create art that reflects world it’s in.

Justin Johnson

About

Justin Johnson is a multimedia artist and sound designer whose practice explores audio technology, physical computing, and interactive performance. He creates tangible interfaces for musical expression that make sonic experimentation more accessible and intuitive. With over a decade of experience in partner dance, Justin's movement practice informs his approach to creating responsive sonic environments and movement-based audio systems.

He is also the founder and director of The Dance Thing, a dance-focused nonprofit arts organization, and advocates for accessible creative tools and arts education. He has worked professionally as a sound designer and audio engineer with IATSE Local 15 and various performing arts companies across the United States

Justin is a current Masters student at NYU Tisch's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and holds a BA in Technical Theatre from Hampshire College. He is based in New York City.

Statement

I play with sound and space.

Instruments that move with you. Rooms where the soundscape hangs in the air. Sometimes it is a motion‑controlled synth tuned so it sings at your touch. Sometimes it is an interface that makes remixing as simple as handling an object. In theatre, it is sound that heightens the world onstage rather than sitting on top of it.

I work with generous edges. Constraints that help people engage with curiosity. Well‑defined musical modes, clear gestures, invitations to try something different in how you listen, or in how you move. The work sits between bodies and speakers, between headphones and ears. In dance, you listen first to the music, then to your body, then to your partner; I design sound spaces with that order of attention in mind.

Not everyone arrives in a space with training or confidence. Communities and third spaces built around agency and self‑expression taught me that a room can hold joy, play, grief, honesty if you design for it. That lesson shows up in the things I build and the events I create. It's in the flow of my music, and in how I invite someone to try, fail, experiment, and have fun with the process.

I ground myself in the mediums I work with: wood and filaments I can shape, code I can reason about, sensors and LEDs I can connect, audio I can hear and feel in a room.

Onstage or off, I create art that reflects world it's in.