Buffalo Rising Online

Nov 14th 2008, 7:00am By Joanna Gillespie

Buffalo is among 149 of the coolest cities in the world. Why, you might ask? Well, our fine city is one of 149 cities, from Adelaide to Zürich, to host a Pecha Kucha Night. Pecha what? I thought you'd never ask. Perhaps the founders of Pecha Kucha Night in Tokyo explain it best:

Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture, Tokyo), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers and architects to meet, network, and show their work in public.

But as we all know, give a mic to a designer (especially an architect) and you'll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global – as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 100 cities across the world. Find a location and join the conversation. www.pecha-kucha.org

As Pecha Kucha Night has spread across the globe since 2003, the scope of presentations has widened. What began with designers and architects has expanded to include painters, live music, actors, philosophers, poets, photographers, geographers, performance artists and filmmakers. A creative gathering in a show-and-tell format, Pecha Kucha Night Buffalo has hosted a particularly diverse array of presenters since 2006.

Buffalo won the right to host the franchised Pecha Kucha phenomenon thanks to the efforts of Nick Bruscia, Peter McCarthy and Heamchand Subryan. Nick, Peter and Heamchand, all students at the School of Architecture & Urban Planning at the University at Buffalo at the time, were fortunate to be able to spend an evening with Pecha Kucha co-founder Mark Dytham. Not only was Mark impressed by their academic work, but their ability to show him around Buffalo in style (there are stories of a limousine and the Old Pink, but I can't divulge the whole story here). Suffice it to say that Pecha Kucha Tokyo gave Pecha Kucha Buffalo its blessing, and the first nine artists presented work in November 2006 for Pecha Kucha Night Buffalo, Vol. #1. Fortunately for Buffalo, Nick, Peter and Heamchand have remained in Buffalo. Nick has joined the faculty of the UB School of Architecture, Peter is an architect with Cannon Design, and Heamchand works for the IDEA Center (a research group within UB's School of Architecture). Fortunately, Pecha Kucha Buffalo is still alive and well.

And now, two years and over 70 Buffalo presenter-artists later, Pecha Kucha Night Buffalo Vol. #8 is upon us. The event will be held at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center (341 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo) this Saturday, November 15. The reception begins at 7:00 pm with a cash bar. Presentations start at 8:00 pm in the Hallwalls cinema. Admission is $5.00.

Pecha Kucha Night Buffalo Vol. #8 marks a special occasion. It is the closing program for the Artspace Buffalo Gallery exhibition, Being Absent. Curated by Soyeon Jung, Being Absent is an exhibition of that brings together past graduates from the MFA programs in Visual Studies and Media Study at the University at Buffalo. The theme of the exhibition is a response to the long-standing trend of migration away from the city, and results from a desire to reconnect with those who have left.

If you'd like to see this exhibition before heading to Pecha Kucha on Saturday night, you have two more chances: Friday the 14th from 12-5PM or Saturday the 15th from 12-5PM and 6-8 PM at Artspace Buffalo Gallery, 1219 Main Street. See www.artspacebuffalo.org for more information.

Nine artists from Being Absent will present video and performance art at Pecha Kucha: Chris Barr (digital video), Véronique Côté(alternative textiles/digital media), Insoon Ha (multidisciplinary art), Adriane Little (photography/intermedia), Robin Brasington (digital video), Arzu Ozkal (new media/design/video), Geoffrey Alan Rhodes (film/video), Penelope Stewart (installation/sculpture/photography), and Orkan Telhan (interdisciplinary design and research). Two special guest presenters from the faculty of the University at Buffalo Visual Studies program will be Joan Linder (painting/drawing) and Ben Van Dyke (graphic design).

But don't worry if you haven't had a chance to see the Being Absent exhibition. You won't be in the dark. Regardless of theme, Pecha Kucha Nights around the globe offer a unique opportunity to listen to artists discuss their work. This Saturday night at Hallwalls will be great opportunity to learn about eleven artists in a relaxed, lively and intimate setting.

Being Absent
Friday the 14th from 12-5PM
Saturday the 15th from 12-5PM and 6-8 PM
Artspace Buffalo Gallery
1219 Main Street

Pecha Kucha Night Buffalo Vol. #8
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
341 Delaware Avenue
Saturday, November 15 Reception at 7:00/ cash bar Presentations start at 8:00 $5.00