400 Seconds

Kansas City architect Jayne Higdon first came across Pecha Kucha in San Francisco and Chicago. Pecha Kucha takes its name from the onomatopoeic Japanese term indicating the sound of talking — think chitchat. It's a quick, accessible format for creative people to network and present their work — with 20 PowerPoint slides for 20 seconds each, for a total of six minutes and 40 seconds. "I thought it would be a good idea in Kansas City," Higdon says. "I called the originators in Tokyo and signed a contract, and I'm supposed to put on four Pecha Kucha shows a year. I think, with the resurgence of the Crossroads and the strength of the young architects and artists in KC, we needed this kind of outlet to get the creative juices going. We present anybody from filmmakers to artists. We've had a DJ, professors, students. It's open to anybody."The format's brevity is its advantage: "The really exciting presentations are inspiring and make the crowd want more, and you always know that the boring ones will be over fast," Higdon says. Tonight's free Pecha Kucha performance at Crosstown Station (1522 McGee, 816-471-1522) starts at 8:20 p.m. — 20:20 in military time — and features artists, architects and writers, including Arsen Kharatyan, Shane Evans, Justin Wood, Viveka Devadas, photographer Alistair Tutton, architect Dan Maginn, Chadwick Brooks, Susan White and John Shreve. To sign up for future shows, e-mail pkn@monstersofdesign.com.
Thu., May 7, 8:20 p.m., 2009