From the late AIA San Antonio Center for Architecture at the Pearl, the former Museo Alameda, the Josephine Theatre, Coates Chapel at the Southwest School of Art and the Blue Star Contemporary Arts Museum, the 14th PechaKucha Night in San Antonio makes its way to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on Tuesday, May 27.
Check out the citywide migration of PechaKucha and the Rivard Report’s coverage of each event on this interactive Google Map.
PechaKucha events take place in more than 700 cities across the globe, and it all started back in 2003 in Tokyo, when Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of architecture firm Klein Dytham sought to design a presentation format that would allow young designers to publicly—but succinctly—share their ideas. Every PechaKucha presenter will discuss their passions and areas of expertise over the course of 20 slides, timed to appear for 20 seconds each.
Click for full PDF flier.
Beginning with a happy hour at 6:30 p.m., access to the event is yours for a donation of $5 at the door. Presentations begin at 7:30 p.m. in the historic Guadalupe Theater. The neon spire adorning the top of the exterior of the building tiled in bright orange and cobalt blue has been a westside landmark and beacon since the 376-seat theater was constructed in 1942.
For more than 30 years, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center has worked to preserve and promote the rich, multidisciplinary traditions of Latino and Chicano culture in San Antonio. Since inception, the Guadalupe claims to have “introduced, showcased or fostered the talents of almost every major Chicano/Latino visual artist, filmmaker, playwright, actor, writer, folkloric dancer/choreographer, or Chicano musician in the United States today.”
While that might sound like a lofty claim, the Guadalupe has repeatedly proven throughout its long history to be both a last bastion for the preservation and celebration of puro San Anto experiences, such as the Tejano Conjunto Festival, and a motivating force for emerging and growing fields, as evidenced by such events as the increasingly laudedCineFestival.
Photo from the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Facebook page.
Take a gander at the PK14 presenters below, with descriptions via the PechaKucha planning team.
Chad Carey is engaged in two very low-risk/low-stress industries: real estate development and restaurants. A graduate from Austin College in 1999, Chad is a partnerin The Regent Companies and Empty Stomach. He has strongly-held opinions about urbanism, food, excel worksheet formatting, 90s punk rock and wine. He’s committed to doing his small part to building interesting things in San Antonio, because it’s his home, and he loves it.
Siboney Diaz-Sanchez, Designer
Siboney Diaz-Sanchez was born and raised in San Antonio. After graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Architecture she returned to Southtown to work at Poteet Architects. While she is pursuing her license of architecture, she dances at Entre Flamenco, hosts visitors in one of San Antonio’s leading Airbnb rentals and is the secretary of the Board of Directors for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.
Siboney draws from her love of architecture and flamenco dancing, as well as her experiences at the Guadalupe Dance Academy and SAY Sí, to create sculpture. Her work is a reflection of her San Antonio childhood, time away and her return.
Cassandra Fauss, Wandering Yogi (Do the words Mobile Om ring any bells?)
Cassandra Fauss, yogi, foodie, dog lover and self-proclaimed beer aficionado, has been a wanderer and dreamer since youth. At the time, she was called “spirited,” by her mom, but today most people would call it ADD. Following many paths since college, Cassandra’s journey has taken her from film production to line cook, retail to real estate.
Becoming a certified yoga instructor, Cassandra learned to embrace her unconventional journey. She has become passionate about teaching yoga to others so they can awaken to their own journey to physical and mental wellbeing. In 2013 she founded Mobile Om, San Antonio’s first mobile yoga studio. On a mission to change the perception of yoga from an exclusive practice, she offers donation-based classes in everyday locations that are accessible for all.
Josh Huskin is an editorial, commercial, music and portrait photographer living in San Antonio.
He grew up in West Texas with a slew of siblings and later crafted his love of creative and conceptual photography, leading to his being published nationally as well as having photos on 50+ covers of magazines. This bearded gentleman is a proud member of the Alamo Beard Club and likes to kick back with a cold Texas beer while watching his favorite team, the San Antonio Spurs. He plays basketball every week and aspires to one day be able to dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim.
John Lambert is a 39-year-old improvisational performer and film actor. Meanwhile, he pursues a History/ Social Studies degree at UTSA toward teaching in high school. He is a widowed father of ten-year-old twin boys, and the lessons of improvisational theater have served him well in this new capacity. He also curates the Short Shorts film fest to promote local filmmakers, which has a charity focus in his late wife’s name.
John Medina joined the San Anto Cultural Arts team as the Community Mural & Public Art Program Manager in August, 2012. Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, he received his MFA from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois and his BFA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Currently he lives and works as a multimedia artist and instructor in San Antonio. Mari Hernandez joined San Anto Cultural Arts as the El Placazo Community Newspaper & Mentor Program Manager, but she has been involved with the organization as a mentor, volunteer and workshop facilitator for over 10 years. She is an accomplished photographer and writer and she credits San Anto Cultural Arts with providing her the opportunity to explore and refine her professional skills.
Sue Ann Pemberton, FAIA, Architect
Sue Ann Pemberton, FAIA, is actively involved in the community, the profession of architecture and preservation. She serves as the 47th president of the San Antonio Conservation Society, was appointed to the board of Hemisfair Park Area Development Corporation. Sue Ann is a senior lecturer at The University of Texas at San Antonio in the College of Architecture, and is the owner of Mainstreet Architects Inc., with over 30 years professional experience.
Ayon Wen, Strategist/Baker (You can trust these treats taste as good as they look:ayonsbakery.com)
Born in Asia but reared in Brazil, Ayon Wen is a marketing, brand strategy, and communications multilingual professional with over 20 years of experience in various industries ranging from packaged goods, telecom/cable and pharmaceutical industries. She currently works part-time at Bromley Communications, managing Enterprise’s Latin America businesses and as a planning director for Western Union. In 2009 she launched Ayon’s Bakery, specializing in cakes inspired by her childhood in South America.
Ayon’s affinity for long distance running/cycling led her to launch AyonFit in 2012, which provides workout sessions for companies conducting meetings in SA. She is currently training for her first half Ironman. Ayon graduated from Trinity University, with a B.S. in Finance and minors in Spanish and French. She is married with two teenage sons and two pets, Maya and Imus.
Stoked to hear from Ms. Mari Hernandez <3
Had to choose. I’ll be at Pan Dulce for Breakfast instead.