The Other 8 Hours is a photographic essay that chronicles the time period—9 pm to 5 am— when social parties within New York City’s Underground Dance Music Community (UDMC) transpire. The images that comprise it depict the experience of creating and attending the dance and music driven gatherings. The work’s premise is the role of nightlife as the epicenter of this community.
    To its members, a multicultural collection of people who have produced and patronized nocturnal festivities for the past 40 years, a party is not just a party but also a musical journey, a dance palace, a place for meeting, a rest stop, a home for some, an oral community bulletin board, a restaurant and even a church. The UDMC holds events in loft spaces, bar-lounges, parks, nightclubs, hotels, apartments, dance studios, and on the beach.
    Produced over three years, The Other 8 Hours is a three- part work: coffee table book, photography exhibition and a party Welcome to: The Other 8 Hours. The party occurred on May 3, 2008, it was a manifestation of the experience portrayed in the coffee table book and exhibition.

To view photos of Welcome to: The Other 8 Hours click here