Twenty slides, 20 seconds and a unique opportunity to see and be seen.
At Pech Kucha night artists and others got the chance to display images like this one and talk about them in the 20 seconds they were allotted. | Courtesy of Monica Grace
Ten members of Houston’s creative community participated in the city’s third Pecha Kucha Night Thursday at Domy Books in the artistically vibrant Montrose neighborhood. Pecha Kucha is Japanesefor the “sound of conversation,” and originated in Tokyo in 2003. The event offers a platform for creative people to share 20 slides of whatever their heart fancies — but there’s a catch.
Presenters have only 20 seconds to talk about each slide before the slideshow automatically switches to the next picture, which allows for a fun and interactive experience for both artists and art-lovers.
“The thing I really like about Pecha Kucha Night is the variety,” said Tony Medrano, a strategist and interactive art director at Six Foot Studios. “You will hear (from) a graphic design student right after a city planner of 20 years. It’s both young and established folks from every field you can think of coming together for one night — you can’t get that kind of variety all in one night anywhere else.”
Medrano started the Houston chapter of Pecha Kucha Night, an occurrence that has taken place in over 230 cities across the globe, according to the event’s website. “We have a lot of great talent here, but each group tends to stick with their own circle,” Medrano said in an interview. “My hope is that by offering something that is open to everyone, we can get new conversations, ideas and collaborations happening.”
Thursday night’s presenters included architects, designers, illustrators and even a cancer researcher with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. According to Pecha Kucha’s website, anyone can participate, and contributors are encouraged to share their passions, projects, artwork, snapshots and anything else that tells their individual and unique story.
It isn’t surprising that a city as culturally rich and diverse as Houston would have a budding creative scene, but Medrano said Pecha Kucha Night surprises its typically artistic audience.
“Every time we have one of these events, I get the reaction, ‘I didn’t know there were so many of us in Houston,’” Medrano said. “That, to me, is an indication that I’m doing my job right.”
A fourth Pecha Kucha Night is in the works for November 2010, but people interested in presenting, volunteering or sponsoring can contact Houston’s Pecha Kucha chapter at www.pecha-kucha.org/night/houston/.
“We are looking for and reaching out to new groups, organizations and individuals all the time,” Medrano said. “So we can make sure we are representing the gamut of what Houston has to offer.”
Sara Nichols is a very talented young journalist. Excellent article.