9 - 16th September 2014

W e l c o m e exhibition, Artspace, Auckland

GWR (Guinness World Record Attempt) was curated as part of group exhibition W e l c o m e, curated by Ahilapalapa Rands at Artspace in Auckland. D.A.N.C.E art club set out to compete in the Guinness World Records as a way to open up Artspace to a wider community than those who usually engage with this institutional space. One of our founding members Tuāfale Tanoa’i AKA Linda T. attempted to break the longest marathon DJing in a public space. This  project called on many communities both familiar and new to Artspace and  D.A.N.C.E art club. The call was not just to participate but also to contribute their labour to the possibility of a legitimate world record as witnesses, dancers, stewards, and timekeepers throughout the 84 hours of the  attempt at all times of the day and night. The work itself lived or died by not only DJ Linda.T’s endurance and that of D.A.N.C.E. art club, and by the will of the audience as a wider collective of volunteers. This was a large-scale production due to the space being open to the public 24/7. To assist Ahilapalapa and Vaimaila with managing the project, Teo’kota’i Paitai and Reina Sutton were brought on board as production assistants. Designer Keva Rands of Papa Clothing was also commissioned to design and sew our iconic D.A.N.C.E art club uniforms. Janet Lilo was also our official D.A.C team photographer. All in all the project involved over 200 active volunteers and many more who came to dance and be a  part of it. Alongside this, GWR was streamed live on USTREAM.TV. The attempt lasted 84 hours before we decided to put it to rest. Join D.A.N.C.E. art club and Tuafale Tanoa'i aka Linda T. in our attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Longest DJ Marathon!