Six-minute artistic cram reaches city from Japan

FROM poetry to architecture – the passions of a group of people were shared with the community at a presentation evening based on a Japanese idea.

Hanley hosted the region's first Pecha Kucha night – an international concept which provides people with a platform to explore and promote their interests.

More than 60 creative people met for the free event in Fat Cats in Trinity Street to hear seven informal presentations, including talks on Anglo Saxon windows, street theatre and the art of being an athlete.

The concept, developed by Tokyo architect firm Klein Dytham in 2003, has travelled to more than 220 cities across the world, including Beijing, Jakarta, and Rome. Stoke-on-Trent is the first place in the Midlands to host an event.

The phrase, Pecha Kucha, comes from the Japanese term for chit-chat, and each presenter is given just over six-and-half minutes to present a 20-image slide show.

Organiser Anna Francis, aged 31, is an artist with the Airspace gallery.

She said: "Sometimes creative people talk about their interests too much, but this format prevents that from happening. Japanese culture is about efficiency and being succinct and this format fits perfectly into that.

"We see it as an experiment which will hopefully grow in the future. It is about sharing ideas and promoting whatever you are interested in. It is organised by volunteers and it's not just about creative people, it can be anyone wishing to talk about something which interests them, either in their professional or their personal lives.

"We had to contact the Pecha Kucha people in Tokyo to get permission to hold the event and they were very happy for us to use their format."

To take part, the artists and enthusiasts had to apply to the organisers before the event, submitting details of their topic for discussion. This way the content is monitored to prevent the event becoming a platform for political campaigning or negative messages.

Bernard Charnley, aged 61, from Basford, performed a prose poem about instability.

He said: "I'm an artist, but prose poetry is a recent development for me and it allows me to write without using the normal structures of a poem.

"The Pecha Kucha evening offers a unique framework for people to develop new forms of communication.

"It's flexible enough to be interpreted in different ways."

Susan Clarke, aged 48, who founded Newcastle-based street theatre group b arts, presented pictures from her international projects. She said: "I didn't know what to call my presentation, so I went for Stupid Places To Put On A Show.

"b arts is about reclaiming public spaces and it often involves people who do not think of themselves as artists.

"We have put on shows in traveller's sites, a brothel in Bucharest and a badly bomb damaged building in Bosnia."

Pecha Kucha organiser Brian Holdcroft hopes the format will be a hit in Stoke-on-Trent and will involve people from all walks of life.

Mr Holdcroft, aged 53, an artist from Werrington, said: "The concept is universal – it's about wanting to tell your story.

"We want to get the general public involved.

"Stoke-on-Trent is bursting at the seams with creative people who have something interesting to say.

"This is a platform for them and it's not something to be frightened of."