Chris Knowlton

Chicago, Illinois

September 2026 Artist-in-Residence: Chris Knowlton

The Paseo Project, in partnership with Hotel Willa, is pleased to welcome transdisciplinary artist Chris Knowlton as the September 2026 Artist in Residence. Working at the intersection of dance, technology, and experimental media, Knowlton creates immersive performance experiences that explore how emerging technologies can expand human connection, perception, and embodied awareness.

During the residency, Knowlton will develop and present Extended Play, an innovative augmented reality (AR) dance work centered on a vinyl record. Blending motion capture, augmented reality, and digital performance tools with analog formats such as record players and music objects, the project explores memory, nostalgia, and queer futurism—while reimagining what a “record” of dance can be.

Inspired in part by the Voyager Golden Record, Extended Play unfolds across multiple formats: a live performance, an interactive installation, and a physical album that audiences can engage with through a smartphone-based AR experience. The work invites audiences to encounter dance not only as something to be witnessed live, but as something that can be held, replayed, and re-experienced through layered media.

Knowlton’s practice investigates how technologies such as motion capture, wearable systems, and augmented environments can deepen our understanding of movement and kinesthetic empathy. As both an engineer and choreographer, he brings a unique perspective to performance-making—one that prioritizes accessibility, participation, and new forms of audience engagement.

Throughout the residency, Knowlton will engage the Taos community through a series of public programs, workshops, and performances in collaboration with local partners:

• Interactive Artist Talk and Demonstration at STEMarts Lab 2026 SciArt Bootcamp  Saturday, September 5, 11:30am - 12:30 pm. Free
  UNM-Taos HIVE, 1146 Gusdorf Rd, Taos.
  A presentation on the inspiration for the Extended Play project from NASA's Voyager Golden Record, demonstrating coding tools used in the project and engaging with bootcamp students. Open to students ages 14-25 enrolled in STEMarts Lab 2026 SciArt Bootcamp.
  

• Extended Play Pop-Up (AR Vinyl Experience), Saturday, September 12, TIME TBD. Free
  Heads Up Music, 226 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos
  A listening-party-style event featuring tabletop demonstrations of the augmented reality vinyl experience.
  

• Dance & Digital Partnering Workshops with MovementLab, 3Bodies:COMPOSITION, Tuesday, September 8 & 15, 5 PM (Donation based)
  Taos Center for the Arts, 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos
  Exploring movement, embodiment, and interaction with digital tools.
  

• Artist Talk: Chris Knowlton, Thursday, September 17, 5:30 PM. Free
  The Gallery @ Hotel Willa, 233 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, Taos
  Free and open to the public
  

• Extended Play – Live Performance, Friday, September 18, 7:30 PM. Free
  WildFlower Playhouse, 1339 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, Taos
  An evening-length performance integrating live motion tracking and augmented reality, allowing the performer to dance across a virtual vinyl record stage. Learn more: https://wildflowerplayhouse.org/events/paseo-project-presents-extended-play-live-performance
  

• STEAM Saturday @ TwirlSaturday, September 19, 11 - 1pm. Free
  Twirl, 229 A, 225 Cam De La Placita, Taos
  A free, hands-on STEAM event where families can build, create, and explore through play with visiting artist Chris Knowlton. 

The Paseo Project’s Artist-in-Residence Program supports visiting artists in developing new work while fostering dialogue and exchange with the Taos community. 

About the Artist
Chris Knowlton is a transdisciplinary movement artist, scientist, dancemaker, and engineer based in Chicago. For over a decade, his work has explored the intersection of choreography and emerging technologies, including motion capture, augmented reality, and biofeedback systems. His projects investigate how digital tools can expand the ways we experience movement, mediate connection, and deepen awareness of ourselves and others. Knowlton’s work spans performance, installation, and interactive media, often presented in non-traditional formats that challenge conventional relationships between performer and audience.

For more information, visit:www.chrisknowltondance.com

Special thanks to our partners for this residency: Hotel Willa, WildFlower Playhouse, and STEMarts Lab