PechaKucha Night at the Bit Factory

PechaKucha Night at the Bit Factory

by Brit Charek

If you're not quite sure about how to pronounce "PechaKucha", you have nothing to worry about — even the organizers of the inaugural Akron area event for the international speaker series aren't entirely sure about that!

"All you need to know is that 20 slides + 20 seconds = your mind blown," the PK Akron Steering Committee explains on their Facebook page.

Each speaker must fit their presentation within 20 slides each lasting for 20 seconds, which adds up to 6:40 minutes precisely per presentation. Some conceptualize PechaKuchas as “mini-TED talks,” but with a party-like atmosphere. Here in Akron, that will be thanks to Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, whose beer will be available at the event, which will take place at The Bit Factory. (I wrote about The Bit Factory back in August — click here to see that post again!)

Currently, PechaKucha events take place in over 800 cities worldwide, and as of this Friday, November 13th, that will include Akron, Ohio.

PechaKucha is a Japanese word meaning "the sound of conversation". It started in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Since then, it has grown massively in popularity and expanded its content. Now PechaKucha includes speakers talking about a variety of topics relating to art, fashion, food, life, architecture, film, design, community, photography, law, and science – the list goes on and on! 

"PK Akron strives to bring you Akron born creative content that has the signature of being innovative, inspiring and community engaging," says Steering Committee member Annal Vyas, "If you have something you feel people would want to hear about or know somebody else who does, don't hesitate to contact us."

This Friday's speakers include:

Roger Riddle, local DJ and Curator at Unbox Akron
Brant Lee, law professor at The University of Akron
Dominic Falcione, local artist behind The Bit Factory

Abhishek "Beesh" Jain, MD., a forensic psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Jennifer Davis, Owner and facilitator of smART Studio
Priscillia Roggenkamp, Internationally renowned artist
Phylliss Steiner, Hattie Larlham Director of Creative Arts
Joanna Wilson, Local author of “The Story of Archie the Talking Snowman”
Dominic Caruso, Design, Marketing and Communications Coordinator at The Akron Art Museum

Sponsors for the event include The University of Akron’s School of Law, Akron Global Business Accelerator, Crafty Mart, The Bit Factory and the Knight Foundation.

PechaKucha Akron Volume 1 will take place at The Bit Factory, located at 526 S. Main St., 5th floor in downtown Akron. The doors open at 7pm.

You can find PK Akron on Facebook, or you can follow them on Instagram or Twitter at the handle @pkakron.