Pecha Kucha Night Oakland

Posted on | October 16, 2008 |

EastSide Arts Alliance, Samurai Graphix, and Hard Knock Radio Present:
PECHA KUCHA NIGHT OAKLAND
10 ARTISTS 20 SLIDES 20 SECONDS

PECHA KUCHA NIGHT OAKLAND
FRIDAY OCT 17, 2008 8PM
EASTSIDE CULTURAL CENTER
2277 INTERNATIONAL BLVD @23RD AVE
OAKLAND

On Friday Night Oct 17 8pm, 10 Bay Area Artists will gather at the EastSide Cultural Center to share their unique visions on the meaning of HOME. Keeping with the tradition of the original Pecha Kucha in Japan, each Artist will present 20 images and speak on each image for 20 seconds. The EastSide Cultural Center will be the official home of Pecha Kucha Night Oakland and will be part of a global network of Pecha Kucha Nights that happen in over 500 cities worldwide.

Last year, Oakland Graffitti muralist Estria Miyashiro was invited to participate in Pecha Kucha Night Honolulu, but was unable to attend. Since then, he has wanted to bring Pecha Kucha Night to Oakland and enlisted the help of EastSide Arts Alliance (ESAA) and Hard Knock Radio (HKR). Estria felt it was a great format for local visual artists to share their work informally with many different people outside of a gallery setting. Estria explains, “Pecha Kucha is a great way to expose your art to many professionals in other fields in one quickfire burst.”

ESAA and the EastSide Cultural Center will be the official location for Pecha Kucha Night Oakland, which will happen on a bi-monthly basis beginning Friday Oct 17, 2008. ESAA is known for presenting cultural events that connect art with politics, and Pecha Kucha Night Oakland will be no different. Maisha Quint of ESAA relishes the opportunity to take Pecha Kucha to the next level. “We are gonna flip the script on Pecha Kucha by presenting artists that are really saying something about the human condition and the state of the world. We know that Pecha Kucha started as a way for designers and architects to present their work and we respect that and will follow the format. We want to focus on designers and architects of social change.”

Each Pecha Kucha Night Oakland will have a theme. Weyland Southon of Hard Knock Radio was responsible for HOME being the theme for the first Pecha Kucha Night Oakland. “I thought it was a logical place to start and it was general enough for a broad range of diverse interpretations. So we have artists, photographers, journalists, graffitti muralists, and others sharing their very compelling images of HOME.”

Pecha Kucha Night Oakland will feature DJs So Fresh and So Gene. There will be a bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There is a $5 cover but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. This event is sponsored by EastSide Arts Alliance, Samurai Graphix, and Hard Knock Radio.
Confirmed Artists for Pecha Kucha Night Oakland include:

April Banks is an Oakland-based conceptual artist and blogger who works in many mediums including photography, installation, and design. Check her out at www.aprilbanks.com.
Traci Bartlow is one of the Bay Area’s most multi-faceted artists. A native of Oakland California, this dancer/choreographer, photographer, and poet has worked internationally in theater, film, television and print. Her website is www.tracibartlow.com.

Scott Braley is an Oakland photographer known for documenting social justice struggles. He spent two years photographing for the new book, Allensworth, the Freedom Colony: an African-American Township in California, by Mrs. Alice Royal, with Mickey Ellinger.

Nora Barrows-Freidman is producer and co-host of KPFA FM’s daily investigative news program Flashpoints. She has traveled frequently to Palestine and has documented the fight for Palestinian self-determination. Her website is www.norabf.com.

Sophie Lan Hou is a renaissance soul and global citizen. Her stylish photographs appear regularly in OAKBOOK.

Josue Rojas is a journalist, photographer, painter, and muralist. He puts in work for New American Media, Univision, and other media outlets. His work has appeared in galleries and on walls in the U.S. and Central America.

Keba Konte is a San Francisco-born Artist and photographer known for his beautiful photo montage technique. He is also co-owner of the Guerrilla Cafe in Berkeley. His website is www.kebakonte.com.

Estria Miyashiro is an acknowledged Graffitti Art King. Since retiring from “bombing” in 1994, he has become a very accomplished muralist and art educator. He is owner of Samurai Graphix and co-host of Pecha Kucha Night Oakland. His website is www.estria.net.

Seher Sikandar is a marketing professional, a scene-maker, a blogger, and a photographer. She has been documenting the Bay Area’s vibrant performing arts scene. Her work can be seen at www.rehescreative.com.

Amanda Williams is an architect turned artist who calls both Oakland and Chicago “home”.Her paintings, photography and site specific installations tell abstracted stories about identity, boundaries and personal freedom. Her website is www.awgallery.com.

Comments