"PECHA KUCHA": DOING THE ELECTRIC SLIDE
PowerPoint slides flash across a large screen in the corner of a coffee house in Atlanta, Georgia. In a presentation called "Chocolate Lab", a woman named Kristen expounds on the dissection of cocoa beans to a rapt crowd. She has exactly six minutes and 40 seconds to get her point across (20 images, 20 seconds apiece). After a quick plug for her local candy boutique, Cacao, Kristin hands the mic to the next presenter, who can’t wait to talk about fractals, interior design, mountain climbing or animé. The cycle continues for at least an hour. Then there’s lots of chatter.
What is this? The love-child of a French Salon and a stockholders meeting?
It’s called "Pecha Kucha", a trendy (and patented) presentation system popular among architects, designers and otherwise creative folks. Pecha Kucha Nights take place anywhere with space for a projector and a few willing participants. It’s free to present, though topics must be pre-approved by organisers and brevity is key. Afterwards, everyone networks and drinks, and the next day podcasts are often posted on iTunes. Weeks later, a new crowd gathers and does it all over again.
Though the name sounds like an exotic drink, tantric-sex move or tiny island hamlet, Pecha Kucha (pronounced “peh-chalk-cha”) comes from the Japanese word for “chit-chat”. Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, British expat architects in Japan, originated the idea in 2003 as an intimate portfolio-sharing experience for up-and-coming designers. It has since become a global phenomenon, with regular gatherings in nearly 200 cities, from Aarhus to Zurich, in venues that accommodate as many as 3,000 people.
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That the sometimes-clunky Microsoft PowerPoint format would become so popular among traditional Macintosh-lovers says something about Pecha Kucha’s viral virility. But why is it so popular?
Alfredo Aponte, an industrial designer and co-curator of the Pecha Kucha Nights in Atlanta, believes the event’s appeal is rooted in the way “it creates so many chances for people to talk and share ideas with anyone comfortably.” There is also something subversive about appropriating such a basic tool of snoozy office presentations for recreational purposes, with events full of comedy and surprise (and occasionally alcohol). "There's always that level of the unexpected,” Aponte says.
For a complete listing of cities and upcoming events, visit pecha-kucha.org.
Picture credit: The crowd at Pecha Kucha Night at Atlanta's Octane Coffee House, courtesy of Pecha-Kucha.org (top); jonklinger (via Flickr)
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There is a reason that the
May 13, 2009 - 17:53 — John Aislabie (not verified)There is a reason that the Powerpoint clunkiness seems out of place.
From the start Astrid and Mark were inspired to do this by the beauty and ease of use of Apple's Keynote which they use exclusively. The production of Pecha Kucha was an add-on to their busy schedules as architects. They found that Keynote gave (and gives) extraordinary flexibility to mix and match pictures and slides and many presentations could be done on the fly and still look professional.
If other cities are using PowerPoint they are probably taking much more time over the production. Tokyo still has a monthly meeting, put together very quickly.
Software is not the point
August 4, 2009 - 00:20 — Al Town (not verified)Software makes no difference, but format is everything - it's just 20 slides set to roll at 20 secs each. Before Powerpoint architects loaded film slides into a projector and talked about their work ad nausium . Not much has changed today. Pecha Kucha proves that creativity blossoms when it is placed under tight constraints.
How do I know? I recently gave one myself:
http://www.vimeo.com/5905081
Powerpoint is really
August 4, 2009 - 05:39 — virility (not verified)Powerpoint is really awesome, during my college days we had a thesis about Virility and I made a powerpoint presentation for it.
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