Signal & Story: Sound Design for a Sound Mind
CultureHub NYC
47 Great Jones Street
3rd Floor
New York, NY 10012
July 13-17, 2026
11am-2pm ET
In-Person
Free
Join us for a 5-day workshop for young artists (ages 14–20) who live in NYC.
Every classic record, every great podcast, every film score are all built on the same secret: somebody listened to the world and took what they needed. In this beginner-friendly 5-day audio bootcamp, you'll do the same. You'll record the city. Sample it. Layer it. And remix it into an audio story that's completely your own.
Signal & Story is a hands-on sound design and audio production program for young creators ages 14–20. You'll work like a producer, a journalist, and a sound designer all at once, learning the tools and techniques behind podcasts, Hip Hop production, audio drama and experimental music. Then you'll use all of it to tell a story that matters to you.
Sound has always been used to process emotion, build community, and make sense of the world. With this lens in mind, we’ll analyze the connection between frequencies and feelings, exploring what sound actually does to a room, to the body and to the mind. With this knowledge we’ll work to find balance in our daily emotional lives and balance in the audio mixes of the stories that we set out to tell.
By the end of the week, you'll have produced a 3–5 minute original audio piece—built from field recordings, original beats, sampled sounds, interviews, and your own voice—and premiered it at a live public listening event.
Day 1: Listen First Learn what makes sound powerful, emotional, and cinematic. We'll explore how frequencies shape the way we experience the world and how listening more deeply can help us understand ourselves more clearly. Start mapping the story only you can tell.
Day 2: Sample the City Capture the sounds of your neighborhood, conduct an interview, and build your personal sample bank. What signals are you picking up?
Day 3: Chop, Layer, Build How to take a sound from anywhere and make it mean something new. Beatmaking, Foley, and the art of sampling. Plus a visual collage session to design the cover art for your piece.
Day 4: Remix the Story Edit your audio. Mix your tracks. Balance your frequencies so every layer has room to sit. Cut, rearrange and record narration until the story hits right.
Day 5: Signal Out Final polish, then premiere your piece at our closing public listening event.
No prior experience necessary!
CoLab is CultureHub’s free one week art & technology program for young artists ages 14–20. This workshop is FREE to anyone interested in audio, storytelling, journalism, or production ages 14-20 who lives in New York City. The workshop will run from 11am-2pm for five days. Students should be able to attend all five sessions. Participants who complete the full program will receive a gift card stipend!
