Pecha Kucha Cincinnati!


(pic from PK Jacksonville)

Do you PK?

Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? If so, good for you, thou hip and in-the-know designerly type. I'll fill the rest of you in so you too can be hip and designerly and in the know.

PK is short for Pecha Kucha (say it with me: Peh-Chah Kuh-Cha) Yes, it's a real phrase (that often incites copious amounts of giggling among my roommates, who are halfway convinced I made the whole thing up) Pecha Kucha is Japanese for "chit chat."

It's an open forum for designers and creative types to share their work, research, or a topic they're interested in. There are generally 10 speakers. Each speaker presents a slideshow consisting of 20 slides. They get 20 seconds to talk about each slide. So, 20x20 = a 6 minute 40 second presentation. The timed format prevents wordy types from straying too far off topic, and helps to move the presentation along in a timely and interesting manner.

These PK nights happen in cities all over the globe - from Indianapolis to Singapore. Cincinnati had its inaugural PK night this past Feburary. It was held in the lobby of the Contemporary Arts Center. There were some really interesting presenters from a wide variety of fields and experience levels. It was also very 'see and be seen' for the Young Professional/Hip Designerly Type crowd. The cash bar was a good touch as well.

The second Pecha Kucha night is happening in two weeks: Friday, May 8th. It'll be at the Cincinnati Art Academy. They've asked me to give a presentation on the recycleD bin project!!!! I'm more than a little excited. The doors open at 6pm. Presentations run from 6.30-8.30. Cocktails and discussion follow after. Tickets are $10, which is cheaper than seeing a show. In other words, I'd just fall over from happiness if you came. So... you should!

Check out:

the official PK Cincinnati website: http://doyoupk.org/

PK Cincy's Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doyoupk/sets/72157614432984000/show/

a Soapbox Cincinnati article on PK night: http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/53pechakucha.aspx