The eighth installment of PechaKucha Night in San Antonio will take place tonight, Monday, November 5, at the Center for Architecture in the Pearl Brewery complex, beginning with a happy hour at 6:30 p.m. followed by presentations at 7:30.
Hailing from various backgrounds and areas of expertise, the eight presenters will share their passions with the audience through the 20 slides/20 seconds format unique to PechaKucha. Derived from the Japanese word for “chit chat,” the first PechaKucha night (PKN) was conceived in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture in Tokyo, intended to give architects and designers a public setting to display and discuss their work and ideas. PechaKucha nights have since proliferated, taking place in cities across the globe. Even the posters advertising upcoming PKNs have taken on life of their own as a new forum for art. (This Tumblr of PechaKucha posters is definitely worth a look.)
San Antonio’s PechaKucha VII (Rivard Report preview and summary here) drew record crowds, with the venue reaching capacity before all hopeful attendees could get a ticket. This time, the Architecture Foundation is offering 160 presale tickets online. The sale ends at noon today, so act fast or plan to arrive early tonight.
To whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peak of tonight’s presenters.
Jeff DeCuir, artist/musician: DeCuir makes up 50 percent of the band Hyperbubble, a group that integrates pop culture and the performing and visual arts into every aspect of their work. He is an academic artist, with a BFA from UTSA, and an instructor at the International Academy of Design and Technology San Antonio.
Kelly Lyons, ecologist: Lyons, a biologist and associate professor at Trinity University, studies invasive plant species. A native San Antonian, she left San Antonio at 18 and returned to live ten miles from her childhood home after living abroad and on both coasts of the US.
Tim McDiarmid, caterer: McDiarmid, also known to some in San Antonio as Tim the Girl, is a personal chef, caterer, design consultant, and the co-founder of two food-related endeavors: the non-profit Eat Smart and the pop-up dinner series called The Special Projects Social. Originally from British Columbia, she spent 17 years in New York City before moving to San Antonio.
Maria Palma, chef/educator: Palma works for the San Antonio Food Bank as a Certified Chef and Nutrition Education Coordinator. Her passion for learning about food led her to recently complete a culinary training course at the Culinary Institute of America. She moved to San Antonio at the age of five from Guatemala.
Chris Sauter, artist: A native of San Antonio, Sauter received his MFA from UTSA. His work has been displayed nationally and internationally in group and solo exhibitions. In 1999, he was selected for the Artpace International Artist Residency.
Ansen Seale, artist: Seale is an artist and photographer who invented a special digital panoramic camera that rapidly and repeatedly captures a vertical slice of the subject, effectively replacing the horizontal dimension of the photograph for the dimension of time. His photographic artwork has been displayed in domestic and foreign museums and galleries.
Jamie Stockwell, journalist: Stockwell is an award-winning journalist and reporter, granddaughter of a South Texas rancher, and former vegetarian. Currently the Managing Editor of the San Antonio Express-News, her career began at The Washington Post.
Mark Stoeltje, advocate: The founding Executive Director of the San Antonio Clubhouse, Stoeltje has a passion for serving adults with severe mental illness through the internationally recognized “Clubhouse” model, focusing on individuals’ strengths and emphasizing meaningful relationships and work rather than treatment.
Miriam Sitz works for Accion Texas Inc., the nation’s largest non-profit microlender. A graduate of Trinity University, she blogs on Miriam210.com and sells handmade goods on TinderboxGoods.com. Follow her on Twitter at @miriamsitz. [Click here for more stories from Miriam Sitz on the Rivard Report.]
