PechaKucha Night Orlando Beauty and the Beets

(puh-CHAW keh-SHAW)

PechaKucha Night started in Tokyo in 2003 by Architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. The concept was invented to provide young designers an opportunity to gather and showcase their work and pitch ideas to each other. However, in order to allow for as many presenters as possible, Klein and Dytham set limits on each presentation, a concept that has stuck to this day. PechaKucha is a Japanese term for “chit chat.”

Each exhibition consists of 20 images shown for 20 seconds a piece, and the images are advanced automatically. The images move forward even if the speaker doesn’t. An entire presentation takes 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The original idea was for people to make a presentation based on their works and organizations, now however, anyone is welcome to speak about whatever they choose.

To this day, PechaKucha Night is held in over 700 cities worldwide.

Last Friday night, about 300 Orlandoans gathered in a large studio space near downtown Orlando for PechaKucha Night. As the doors open at 7pm, people mingled around a bar serving wine and beer. Gigi’s cupcakes were there providing attendees with delicious desserts.

At 8pm, seven speakers made presentations ranging in topics from The Gift of Fear to Painting For Process to The Effect of Inspiration. A professional photographer discussed his experiences being lost in an overseas mountain range to a woman who recalled being held up at gunpoint. A lady who was told she couldn’t be an artist, while 42 years later she now runs a successful painting program here in Orlando.

Each speaker just as fascinating as the last speaker.

By 9pm, everyone was on their feet applauding the seven speakers. We laughed, we cried and we were all leaving a little more inspired than when we walked in.