A citywide favorite among arts and culture events, PechaKucha – pronounced “PEH-cha KOO-cha” – will make its final appearance in 2016 at the recently completed Mays Family Center at the Witte Museum on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Happy Hour will start at 6:30 p.m., and presentations by seven speakers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The suggested donation, which can be paid at the door, is $5. To purchase pre-sale tickets, click here.
WOAI-TV News 4 San Antonio Anchor Randy Beamer will lead the audience through the energetic night of rapid-fire presentations. When the time comes for the seasoned emcee to perform his nightly on-air duties, two-time NBA Champion and San Antonio Angel Network founder Brent Barry will take over the mic.
The format for PechaKucha, which is Japanese for “chit chat,” is the brainchild of a group of Tokyo architects who sought an enticing way for professionals to share intellectually stimulating topics and ideas. Each presenter has exactly six minutes and 40 seconds to present 20 PowerPoint slides at 20 seconds each. It’s fast-paced, it’s informative, it’s anything but boring.
PechaKucha made its San Antonio debut in February 2011 and has been a quarterly happening ever since. Its first eight installments took place at the Center for Architecture, after which the event turned nomadic, visiting some the city’s most beloved venues – from the Majestic and Empire theaters to Yanaguana Garden to the Arneson River Theatre at La Villita, and now to the new Mays Family Center.
The center, which overlooks both Broadway Street and the San Antonio River, accommodates up to 800 guests. The seven speakers may draw a crowd that fill up every last seat in the house.
(Speaker biographies provided by PechaKucha organizers.)
Adam O. Aguirre: Anthropologist/Educator – Northwest Vista College
Adam Aguirre runs the Anthropology Discipline at Northwest Vista College, and he feels passionately about making education both quality and accessible…to everyone. After a decade and a half of promoting social justice causes in his research, through community organizing, and of course in the streets, he now focuses his attention almost exclusively on creating woke, global citizens out of his students while protecting their right to a pluralistic and decolonized education. He also has a sense of humor.
Joan Cheever: Advocate – The Chow Train
Joan Cheever is a tireless advocate for the poor and the hungry. She is a wife, mother, journalist, attorney and chef. The Chow Train has served more than 100,000 gourmet meals to the homeless in San Antonio and the “newly homeless” as the result of tornadoes and hurricanes. In April 2015, SAPD said her acts of kindness were against the law. She told the City that they were the law-breakers. She spoke up and spoke out. Fourteen weeks later, the ticket was dismissed.
Odie Cole: A Human Being
Wayne Erwin-Kazunori Cole, who goes by the singular moniker “odie.” (with a period) was born in Tachikawa, Japan in 1965. Growing up, he freely enjoyed both American and Japanese cultural icons like cowboys and samurai, PB&J and rice balls, and the music of Roger Miller and the Japanese Drifters. As a musician, he’s had the privilege of writing, recording, and performing with some of his favorite artists including long-time best friend and musical collaborator Erik Sanden. Someone who is still trying to learn how to love and be loved, from San Antokyo, Tejas … It’s odie.
Elizabeth Fauerso: Chief Marketing Officer – The Pearl
Elizabeth Fauerso has served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Pearl for the past five and a half years. Prior to joining Pearl, Fauerso served as vice president and executive director of strategic planning at Dieste, one of the country’s leading Hispanic marketing agencies, where she led marketing program development for brands including AT&T, Levi’s, Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines and Pepsi. In 2016 Fauerso was awarded the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Visionary Award.
Veronique Le Melle: Executive Director – Artpace
Executive Director Veronique Le Melle joined Artpace in January 2016. Previously, Le Melle directed a number of arts and cultural organizations including the Boston Center for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and she served as Director of Cultural Affairs & Tourism for the Queens Borough President’s Office. Veronique holds an MPA in Public Policy & Administration from Columbia University-School of International and Public Affairs, an MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College, and a BA in Economics/Business Administration from Colorado College.
Bob Shemwell: Architect – Overland Partners
Bob Shemwell, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and leading practitioner of sustainable design whose poetic work brings a systemic and environmental approach to the creation of beautiful public places of international importance. As the head of the Educational Program over a four-year period, he oversaw the explosive growth of GREENBUILD (the U.S. Green Building Council’s International Conference and Exposition). His current work includes several new projects in China, the Middle East, and Mexico.
Rob Wicall: Former Mascot – Spurs Sports and Entertainment
Rob Wicall has performed and been an athlete since he was 5 years old…it was in his blood. After performing as a water skier at Sea World all through college, Rob entered the mascoting world. He finally hung up the sweaty fur for good in April of 2016, and is now promoting awareness for Arthritis sufferers, writing, speaking, and opening his own experimental marketing firm. While performing as the Spurs Coyote, Rob was named Mascot of the Year twice, and won Video Skit of the Year four times.
The Last Word will be mixing up a selection of craft cocktails, local eateries like Bakery Lorraine, The Good Kind, King’s Highway Brew & Q, Pharm Table, Say.She.Ate, and Sweet Chela’s will ensure that nobody goes hungry, and Saturn Skies will provide on-site live music.
Free self-parking is available in the Brackenridge Park Parking Garage on Avenue B and Tuleta Drive . Additional free self-parking is available in a lot at Broadway and Allensworth streets.
Those braving the rain and arriving on two wheels may chain their bicycles to the fence of the Witte, close to the check-in on Tuleta Drive. Additionally there are bike racks located within Brackenridge Park.
