If you have anything creative to share, this is an opportune time and platform to perform real live to connect and network.[break]
Kathmandu will see its first Pecha Kucha Night tonight, March 27, at Attic Bar, Lazimpat, thanks to the creative duo -- Sujan Chitrakar, artist and activist from Kathmandu, and Christ Haughton, illustrator from Ireland.
Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, the PKN was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network and showcase their work in public.
Since then, the non-profit event has been growing exponentially with the event now being hosted in more than 397 cities around the world.
“We have 11 people presenting at the first ever Pecha Kucha Night- Kathmandu besides Chris and me,” says a visibly elated Chitrakar, “And we have people from all different backgrounds ranging from artists to designers and zoologists to an ex-Kumari.”
He shares that the event will allow the participants to mix socially and share their ideas in a cordial environment.
There will also be drinks. “If you give a forum for the people who are creative to talk on anything, they can talk for hours,” he says, adding, “But with the 20x20 format like this, where the slides move automatically every 20 seconds and there is no going back, the best thing is that you will not get bored. And, even if you do that, it’ll not be longer than six minutes.”
As regards the content of presentation, Chitrakar explains that PKN is all about creativity. A five-year-old kid had presented her artwork and a 69-year-old elaborated her wedding cakes in the previous event held abroad, he elaborated.
“You can present anything you like that is interesting and creative,” he says. Many people have also confused Pecha Kucha Night with TED talks but Chitrakar clarifies that PKN is very different. “TED is like you are up there on the podium with experts making presentations, but PKN is like a bottom-up approach, starting from the grassroots,” he says.
Haughton, who met Chitrakar when he did a workshop at KU School of Arts last year, says he received many emails from people after the workshop and they were also looking forward to presenting their works. But there was no forum like this available for them.
So, the duo decided to hold the event and talks outside the university as a way of engaging not just the students but also more people.
“Since Pecha Kucha Night is like a franchise all over the world, many foreigners already know about it,” says Haughton, “And in a place as dynamic as Kathmandu where people from different cultural backgrounds are coming in all the time, there are more chances of cultural exchange
as well.”
According to Haughton, who’s been in some Pecha Kucha nights abroad, the most successful Pecha Kucha nights are the ones with people from different backgrounds coming together.
As this serves as a socializing event when people from diverse walks of life get to meet each other. This can also be an excellent opportunity for networking as well.
Though the speakers for the first event have been hand-picked, for future Pecha Kucha Nights, speakers can apply via their website www.pecha-kucha.org/night/kathmandu/. Chitrakar informed that they’re planning the next PKN in mid-June and mid-September.
So, make your pitch and if you have something good to present, you can certainly be out there sharing it with people and making things happen.
The first ever Pecha Kucha Night-Kathmandu starts at 6 pm tonight at Attic Bar, Lazimpat. Entrance fee is set at Rs 50 (Rs 20 for students).
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