28.10.14
PKN was once again proud to be part of the awesome NEoN Digital Arts Festival, which is where PKN first started out back in November 2011.
If you’ve not been to Pecha Kucha Night Dundee before, then all we can say is come along and try it out. PKN is part of a massive global network, which you can find out more about here. You get to hear from around 12 diverse individuals who speak about whatever they like, and it’s a speedy format – presenters have 20 images and 20 secs per image – so just under 7 mins, which means you hear a lot of interesting, though-provoking, often inspiring stuff.
At PKN we also have a regular ‘spread the word’ feature, giving anyone the chance to grab the mic and shout out the events and opportunities that you have got coming up…
We were also really pleased to have Drop in and Play showcasing the best local games, run in association with DCA; and Ms Battenberg’s Travelling Tea Room who joined us to dish out free cake!
A huge thanks to designer Sooz Gordon and photographer Julie Christie for the great PKN artwork.
The Ovarian Cysters did a stunning surreal surprise finale, with Lady Blah Blah taking centre stage. The Ovarian Cysters are 5 women who have been dancing together for over 12 years. They’ve danced at weddings, birthdays, fashion shows, and music festivals – the main events are usually for charity which they give their time tirelessly and for free! Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Anthony Baxter is the award-winning director of You’ve Been Trumped, also produced by Montrose Pictures, which was named best documentary of 2012 by Mark Kermode of the BBC, and which won 10 other awards around the world, including the at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia, and played on the BBC 2 to large audiences (well over a million viewers), and later on Netflix, and also on television and cable in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Israel, New Zealand, Australia and other countries. The film was the subject of favourable reviews and coverage in all British broadsheet newspapers, and also the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, and Variety in America. It was one of the last films reviewed by the late Roger Ebert, who gave it the thumbs up. Baxter also has numerous credits as a director and producer on Channel 4 and the BBC. @antbaxter @adgmovie @trumpedmovie. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Anthea Reid runs Food on Friday, a charity which has been based in the East End of Dundee for 8 years. They support and educate the poorest families within the community to cook, garden and increase activity, to increase physical and mental well-being. Over a year they help and work with around 600 people. Food on Friday has hit a funding block and only has 2 months to survive. The impact on the community will be devastating, so Anthea has been working hard to raise awareness of their great work and successes to date. @FoodOnFriday. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Matt Peacock is an independent consultant, researcher, project developer and part-time music promoter. He works across a number of areas including business planning, enterprise, property development, and has a particular interest in innovation environments, the cultural and creative industries and the cross-over with urban regeneration. He works for public and private sector clients around UK, and sometimes internationally. Matt lives in his native Medway, Kent where it is still possible to buy a house. @mattypeacock. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Akiko Kobayashi – Escaped South Londoner Akiko runs an architecture practice which has evolved into facilitating community led development in the built environment. Through Assemble Collective Self Build CIC, she designs ways for groups of self builders to explore the potential of their proposals, communicate their vision and gain practical skills to develop self-efficacy. Other current ventures include a temporary brownfield adventure playground, a Good For Nothing hack event and getting architecture students working on building sites. @AkikoMaK and projects: @AssembleCSB, @GFNEdinburgh. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Ross Middlemiss is a Dundee based musician, recording engineer and cake fanatic. Having previously played in bands like Juliet Kilo and Pensioner, he is currently a member of Terrafraid and Stonethrower, as well as performing as a solo musician under the name Little Anchors. He has been recording and mixing bands since 2007, in a variety of locations in and around Dundee. Most recently, Ross has been providing musical support and tuition as a voluntary youth worker with the Hot Chocolate Trust. @toiletbag. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Nora O’ Murchú is a new media art curator, and designer. She produces events, exhibitions, gigs and talks at the intersection of art, technology and design. She is currently course director of Digital Media Design at the University of Limerick. @norette. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Martin Baillie is a Designer of Things based in Edinburgh and made in Dundee, providing creative solutions for organisations small, medium and large. Recent projects include work for V&A Museum of Design Dundee, Edinburgh Art Festival, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Chemikal Underground and Dunoon Film Festival amongst others. @mrbaillie. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Vol 10.
Yann Seznec is an artist and musician based in Edinburgh. His work focuses on sound, interfaces, and performance, with occasional detours into projects about public transport. @amazingrolo. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Heather Cassidy is a theatre maker, facilitator and arts engagement specialist working in youth, education and community contexts. As a freelancer, she has worked with mums and babies of a few weeks old up to first time performers at the grand age of 76, in over 600 schools and in every area of Scotland apart from the Western Isles … yet! Heather currently works as part of the Creative Learning team at Dundee Rep Theatre as their Education, Skills and Training Facilitator, developing and delivering a range of projects for people of all ages, including their growing Creative Pathways programme which offers work experience opportunities and hands-on practical placements. @heatherfcassidy @dundeerep. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Graham Black swapped Scotland for Hawai’i for 8 years to work for an award winning small preservation and restoration architecture firm. It was in Hawai’i where he attended his first Pecha Kucha evening, found his passion for photography, and stalked the Scottish actor from the TV show “Lost.” Graham continues to work for his Hawaiian firm via the cloud whilst also exploring other creative opportunities. He recently created the Social Media for Arbroath FC which he runs and regularly contributes photographs and reports for the Arbroath Herald. @graham_black. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Richard Clifford is Director of MAKLab and trained as an architect at Strathclyde University and the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. He has worked with prestigious architects in a range of sectors, before establishing MAKLab in 2012. He has taught architecture and design related topics across the UK, and is involved in a wide range of projects and organisations. Through MAKLab, Richard and his team are exploring ways in which digital prototyping technologies and personal manufacturing processes can impact the lives of people and inform the ways in which we think about architecture, products, devices, materials and waste. @themaklab. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Oliver HV Mezger is an experimental film-maker and digital artist. He studied at Glasgow School of Art and now lives and works in Edinburgh. He creates work in a variety of media – 16mm film, digital video, slides, flick-books, knitting, concrete poetry, sound and through musical collaborations. His most recent film ‘Air Sgàth Margaret Tait’ (2014) reflects on the significance of Margaret Tait’s film ‘The Big Sheep’ (1966) and his relationship to it, over the time he spent in the village of Helmsdale, Sutherland, in the Far North-East of Scotland. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
Dr Sara Robertson is a Lecturer and Researcher in Craft Innovation and Smart Materials at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee. Sara’s research focuses on materials and technology through a broad, colourful and futuristic lens. She manipulates thermochromic, photochromic and hydrochromic materials, which she uses to innovate across design and craft practice. @popupworkshop. Video from Pecha Kucha Night Dundee Vol 10.
What the devil is a Pecha Kucha Night anyway? Pecha Kucha Nights* were originally started back in 2003 in Tokyo, as an event for creatives to meet, network, and talk about their work in public. Since then Pecha Kucha, meaning ‘chit chat’ in Japanese, has spread internationally running in over 700 cities across the world. The much loved and respected format is relaxed, simple and enjoyable, with something for everyone – presenters have 6 minutes 40 seconds to show and talk through their 20 images, each for just 20 seconds – this keeps things fast and fun! * Pecha Kucha was devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture. The PKN Dundee event is organised and hosted by Creative Dundee.