Downtown Mansfield, Inc. (DMI), in partnership with the Ohio State University at Mansfield and Richland Source, will hold Mansfield’s second PechaKucha Night on Thursday, February 20, 2014.
This second installment of the local PechaKucha Night series will take place in the Student Union at The Ohio State University, Mansfield campus, located on the Second Floor of Eisenhower Hall. The evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. with refreshments and networking. Presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture, PechaKucha was founded in February, 2003. PechaKucha 20×20 is noted for its simple presentation format in which presenters show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. Images automatically advance as the presenter speaks.
The format is designed to foster presentations that are more timely and entertaining than standard slide presentations.
Presentations can span any variety of topics, community development plans, special projects, product ideas or anything a presenter is passionate about and would like to share with the community.
The PechaKucha website explains, “Good PechaKucha presentations are the ones that uncover the unexpected — unexpected talent, unexpected ideas. Some PechaKuchas tell great stories about a project or a trip. Some are incredibly personal, some are incredibly funny, but all are very different, and they turn each PechaKucha Night into ‘a box of chocolates.'”
Audiences have responded enthusiastically. In the ensuing decade, Klein Dytham architecture has partnered and networked with organizers to put PechaKucha Night in cities around the world. In over 700 cities the world over, creative people gather on international PechaKucha nights for a fun night of “drinking and thinking.” Mansfield’s first event proved to be no exception.
Mansfield’s first PechaKucha Night featured a variety of presenters. Dr. Phil Mazzocco, who opened the evening with a heartwarming autobiography told in relation to his passion for baseball cards. Llalan Fowler shared her dream of opening a business that was one part bookstore and another bar. Dr. Christian Winterbottom introduced his new home of Mansfield to his hometown of Manchester, England. A mash-up of poetry and art followed courtesy local artist Aurelio Diaz. Paul Kemmerling explained how one’s coffee choice is both judged and interpreted by baristas and is viewed as an accurate predictor of personality. Local architect Matthew Stanfield challenged preconceived notions of society and space with his thoughts about community-minded architecture.
Richland Source’s own Jay Allred made a presentation on how punk rock, skateboards, community and Richland Source had everything to do with one another. Allred said that during his preparation he made an important discovery, “I found that it was easily the most challenging presentation I had ever done because of the format.”
“Because it was so concise, [the format] caused me to distill everything down to the core idea.” Allred said. He added that the time constraints generally produce a presentation that has “no fat, it’s all muscle and bone. It’s only the good stuff.”
The second installment will look to continue that theme as radio engineer and Richland Source correspondent Mike Thompson offered a sneak preview of his presentation, “How I Hacked My House.” His talk will be about the many projects that yielded an automation of his home and property. “Some of it’s out of necessity,” he explained, “I have had to research and implement new technologies in order to accomplish what I need to accomplish.”
The Feb. 20 PechaKucha event in Mansfield is open for prospective presenters. Interested parties can call Downtown Mansfield at 419-522-0099 or email jamiet@downtownmansfield.com for additional information or to discuss your topic. The event will provide technology for your presentation and is free to enter.
