The duo felt that most cities have virtually no public spaces for people to show their work in a relaxed way
A PechaKucha Night at Townsville in Australia; (below, right) a still from Teena Kaur Pasricha's film, 1984: When the Sun Didn't Rise
Sometime in 2003, Tokyo-based architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham decided to turn their gallery-cum-creative space into a venue for a unique idea-sharing platform for a night. The duo felt that most cities have virtually no public spaces for people to show their work in a relaxed way.
"If you have just graduated from college and finished your first project in the real world, where can you show it? It probably won't get into a magazine, and you don't have enough photos for a gallery show or a lecture, but PechaKucha is the perfect platform to show and share your work," write Klein and Dytham about PechaKucha Nights on their website, a concept that has caught on in more than 1,000 cities across the world in a span of 15 years.
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The idea is simple: each speaker gets to share their story or talk about a new project in 20 images, where each image is allotted 20 seconds. So, in a little over six-and-a- half-minutes, you have shared your work with an audience in a crisp and succinct manner without running the risk of your presentation being too verbose or seeming like a never-ending slideshow.
Nikita Koka
While Mumbai has witnessed PechaKucha Nights in the past, it needs to have at least four such events in a year to become a regular host city. This licence, or the annual Handshake Agreement as it is called, was recently acquired by Nikita Koka of 91Springboard, a co-working space in Mumbai, and the first edition under the licence will take place this Saturday.
"Mumbai is home to so many people who are passionate about the arts or work tirelessly for a cause above and beyond their day job. And several such people use our space. I have attended a PechaKucha night, and felt it could lend itself perfectly to a similar event here, where people from creative fields can share their stories," says Koka, adding that for the first edition, they dipped into their immediate community of artistes and entrepreneurs along with speakers who have conducted TED talks, to give attendees an idea of what the event encompasses.
Dedeepya Reddy
"When I first heard of the 20x20 format, I felt it fits well with what we do since ours is a picture-driven project," says Dedeepya Reddy, co-founder of Chal Rang De. She will share the story of the non-profit initiative, whose members see the city's slums as a blank canvas to be painted with bright colours as opposed to being an eyesore.
Esha Sridhar
Through 20 slides, Esha Sridhar, LGBTQIA activist and founder of The Plane Jar, a youth activism and outreach forum, will dive head on into her story of being a child abuse survivor. "Indian society does not stigmatise physical violence enough," says the 19-year-old. Would speaking about a complex issue such as abuse through pictures be difficult? "I plan to share images that break stereotypes. A happy-looking child playing football could also be a survivor of abuse," she explains.
Astrid Rao
For young entrepreneurs in the audience, the story of Astrid Rao and her residential paragliding school, Native Adventures, which she founded with her husband in Kamshet, could be particularly interesting. "We got into this at a time when adventure sports in India were almost unheard of; we went with our instinct and followed no business plan. In the 20 years of its existence, the place has also developed into a sustainable eco-system based on the principles of permaculture," shares Rao.
The day after Teena Kaur Pasricha got the news that her film, 1984: When the Sun Didn't Rise, had won the 2018 National Award for Best Investigative Film, she learnt that the lump in her breast was cancerous. "While I will talk about my filmmaking journey, I also want to raise awareness about breast cancer and how being alert can help early detection, as was the case with me," she says.
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Other speakers for the evening include expressive writing facilitator Elita, co-founder of Fab Bag, Kaushik Mukherjee, who has also completed Ironman Triathlon; and Munaf Patel, who will talk about his journey from being an MNC employee to being the chief eating officer of his home-dining venture.
On: June 16, 6 pm
At: 91Springboard, Kagalwala House, CST Road, Kalina.
Log on to: insider.in
Entry: Rs 200
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