Pecha Kucha is coming to Žilina

Pecha Kucha (pronounced "peh-cha koo-cha") is a Japanese term for the sound of conversation. It is also the name of an event that precisely defines the format and time for each presenter - 20 images, each displayed on the screen for 20 seconds. In total, 6 minutes and 40 seconds, during which architects, designers, artists, and other interesting people will talk about their creations and projects. This simple principle prevents lengthy professional lectures and descriptions, shifting professional projects into an informal and lively position accessible to the general public. The first Pecha Kucha Night in Žilina will take place on Friday, March 28 at 8 PM in the spaces of the cultural center Stanica Žilina-Záriečie.

Pecha Kucha Night was first introduced in Tokyo in 2003 by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture. The project arose as a meeting space for young creators, where they could network and confront each other simultaneously. Pecha Kucha quickly became popular also for its entertaining aspect, and is currently organized in 103 cities around the world. After Tokyo, New York, London, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Delhi, Bogotá, and Tasmania, it is now coming to Slovakia. It had a successful premiere - on February 28 at the Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava, the 400-seat hall was sold out a week before the event.

In Žilina, the license was acquired by Sandra Kubániová and the civic association Kachuna. The venue where 5 evenings of Pecha Kucha Night will take place during the year 2008 is the Stanica building in Žilina-Záriečie, which has an interesting architectural and design story in itself. "We will give mainly Žilina creators the opportunity to present their projects and their view of the world. Selected architects, graphic and product designers, and visual artists will have space during each of the five evenings. However, there will also be presentations from the architectural history of the city, and interesting projects from theater, activism, science, or independent spaces similar to Stanica will also have their chance,” says Sandra Kubániová, the project's producer.


At the first Žilina Pecha Kucha Night, graphic designer Pavel Choma, artist Anton Čierny, chemist Peter Kasák, designer Peter Bohuš, puppeteers Hanka Lukšů, Tomáš Hudcovič, and many others will present their work. "We will also have guests from neighboring countries, and since we cooperate with Bratislava's Pecha Kucha, we always choose someone whose presentation fascinated us there, and we want to share it with the Žilina audience,” adds Kubániová.

This year, we can look forward to a total of 10 Pecha Kucha Night events - 4 in Bratislava, 5 in Žilina, and once at the Bažant Pohoda festival in Trenčín.

More information: www.pechakucha.sk, www.pecha-kucha.org

Tickets can be purchased directly at Stanica Žilina-Záriečie or reserved by email at [email protected], or by phone at 041 56 23 564.