Knockdown Center: Partners in Vibe Curation
The Knockdown Center is a 50,000 square foot, music -venue and events-space in Maspeth, Queens. Independently owned and operated by longtime vets of the NYC music scene, the venue represents a lot of what we love most about New York City. The industrial style building has been in continuous use for 100 years, and is now host to a vibrant nightlife culture.
As a music venue and cultural hub Knockdown Center hosts all genres and varieties of musical acts. Their main audience is there for electronic, DJ, and experimental music and Their flagship programming includes WIRE Festival, Outline, RUSH, and BASEMENT, all of which have presented premier DJ talent from all over the world.
There are as many flavors of electronic music which all bring in their own audiences aesthetics and vibes. A techno crowd is different than , French House. The challenge for Experienced Visuals, in our ongoing partnership with Knockdown, has been to curate an aesthetic cohesion in the visuals we produce their archival and marketing needs, while still capturing each unique experience.
The Knockdown Center first housed the Gleason-Tiebout glass factory, and then the Manhattan Door Factory, from whom it borrows its name: the “Knock-Down” door frame that was invented here in 1956-an industry standard to this day.
AKUMANDRA (January 2026)
AKUMANDRA is an NYC-based record label and event producer, known for championing emotive, and organic melodic techno and indie dance music.
The regular parties at Knockdown Center, curate an immersive, moody feel and offering deep, rhythmic sounds. Knockdown Center brought Ryan out on January 23 for an indoor wintry late-nighter, before a massive snowstorm fell upon the city. featuring performances by Sainte Vie, Booka Shade, and Mateo b2b Eli.
These black and white images invite us to focus in on and notice the joy in both the partygoers’ and talent’s faces.
Machinegirl (October 2025)
In October 2025, Experienced Visuals was on the ground for Machine Girl at Knockdown Center. Presented alongside LSDXOXO, Deli Girls, and Candy, this event articulates what we said before: Knockdown’s sounds and crowds are expansive and present different needs.
This was a harsh noise sound and crowd, bridging the gap between heavier genres like metal and hardcore punk with electronic and other experimental music. We played with light, contrasting colors, and multiple exposures to articulate the chaos in a way that was both tasteful and authentic.
Berlioz (September 2025)
Knockdown Center hosted the UK-based electronic producer and DJ Berlioz in September. The late summer date was a prime opportunity to shoot the space — the event bridged day and night, allowing for some really gorgeous “golden hour” shots of the venue’s outdoor area Ruins. With this, we were able to show the versatility of the venue, which can easily host a dark and grimy techno party one night and a sultry late summer day party the following afternoon.
C2C Festival (May 2025)
We also had the exciting opportunity of shooting C2C Festival at Knockdown Center for BrooklynVegan. This bold, avant-garde festival, which stands for “Club to Club,” originated in Italy and featured a stacked line-up topped by experimental ambient artist Oneohtrix Point Never, also including Nala Sinephro, Two Shell, evilgiane, Jlin, John Glaicer, Kode9, Nick León, Dave P, and Devon Turnbull / Ojas across two stages.
Of course, any multi-stage festival presents a challenge in terms of making sure as many special moments are captured as possible, the top-tier talent, the chic partygoers, and the energetic cultural panache of this high profile event, all of which combines to represent Knockdown Center as an arbiter of cool nightlife in NYC.
MED GALA (MAY 2022-2024)
The Med Gala is an annual meditation event at Knockdown Center in early May, aligning time-wise with its namesake Met Gala. Described as a “radical event to shift the consciousness of the planet from the beacon of NYC,” and invites all manner of like-minded spiritual creatives in New York City.
We’re tasked here with capturing the unique intersection of wellness, music, and spirituality, in a way that acknowledges the reverence of the event with the need to capture more traditional content, like photos of event sponsors for recap assets and future pitching materials.
