Pecha Kucha: Inspire Japan

Apr 14, 2011 by Cynthia    4 Comments    Posted under: Austin Art, Paying it Forward

As you’re no doubt aware, on March 11, Japan suffered an earthquake and tsunami that destroyed miles of coastline, killed over 10,000 people, and triggered a nuclear situation that is still unfolding. Japan is where the popular  ”PechaKucha 20 images x 20 seconds” show-and-tell event format was born back in 2003, and it has gone on to inspire designers to get together in over 400 cities to share their creativity at more than 1,000 events each year.

On April 16, cities all over the world will unite again to broadcast  hundreds of 20×20 presentations streamed live and then uploaded online to make a database of positive inspiration for the Land of the Rising Sun. Online donations are also possible here. A similar effort was undertaken for the Global PechaKucha Day for Haiti, which helped raise over $80,000.

Pecha Kucha, which translates to “chit chat” in Japanese, has even made its way to Austin, with the 11th iteration coming up on Wednesday, April 27 at the Seaholm Power Plant. Speakers include Dana Friis-Hansen, the Austin Museum of Art’s longtime executive director, graphic designers, the Hancock Brothers, UT assistant art prof, Beili Liu, burlesque dancer, Jori Lodes, furniture designer, Michael Yates, photographer, George O. Jackson, and food blogger, Tiffany Harelik.

Here are some simple yet brilliant Inspire Japan-related graphics created by French graphic designer, Eric Bediez.

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