A group of creative industry professionals in Charleston are staging the first-ever Pecha Kucha Night in Charleston on November 12 at 6:00 p.m.  So what the heck is Pecha Kucha and why should I care?

Pecha Kucha is a Japanese phrase that means ‘the sound of conversation’ or ‘chit chat’ and it’s a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour. It was originally conceived by architects in Japan who wanted an informal forum for creative people to meet, network, and share ideas without the danger of a designer run amuck with PowerPoint and microphone.  So the format allows each presenter 20 images shown for just 20 seconds each, without control of ‘forward’ or ‘back, please,’ making for a concise, 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame for each of 8-10 presenters.  Since 2003, the concept has spread virally to over 135 cities around the world.

With so much interesting creative work going on around Charleston, in so many different arenas, it sounded like a good idea to celebrate that and see what’s happening.  The presenters confirmed for the first event are from the fields of graphic design, advertising, visual and performing arts, literature, architecture and urban planning.  And we’re working on a few more.

It’s for creativity, it’s not for profit, and all of the organizers are volunteers who have day jobs.  So no one’s going to hit you up for cash.  Oh yeah, and there will be beer, too.

So check out the invite, rsvp if you’re interested (you’ll need to in order to find out the location), and we’ll see you there.  And feel free to pass it along to anyone you think might enjoy.  Should be interesting!