PechaKucha 39 at Rooftop Sessions
A Special PK Night at The Contemporary Austin–Jones Center
Advanced registration is now closed. A limited number of walk-up tickets will be made available at the event as capacity permits.
Join us on the Jones Center Rooftop overlooking downtown Austin, for a special PechaKucha presentation! The Contemporary Austin is proud to partner with DJ Stout, Austin-based graphic designer, Pentagram Partner and Principal of the Austin office, and Co-Director of PechaKucha Austin. Our presenters are: sharon maidenberg, Michael Ray Charles, Lope Gutierrez-Ruiz, Jes Fraley, Michael O’Brien, Kelley Mickwee, Daniel Woodroffe, Virginia L. Montgomery, John Kunz, and Candace Cooper. Design Austin will also be joining us, tabling next to the PechaKucha table. Visitors will have a chance to learn more about Design Minded, an event series created by Design Austin in partnership with The Contemporary Austin. An ASL interpreter, sponsored by Design Austin, will also be available at the event to assist attendees who require ASL interpretation.
While you're here, also explore the exhibitions Jiab Prachakul: Sweet Solitude, Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers, and HOST: Tenant of Culture!
Members, please provide your Member ID at the point of purchase to get your FREE tickets.
About PechaKucha
PechaKucha which roughly translates to “chit-chat” in Japanese, is a creative speaking event that originated in Tokyo in 2003. The unique format, a kind of speed-dating version of a TED talk, invites 10 guest speakers to each develop a presentation on a creative topic within the strict parameters of 20 slides (image slots) and 20 seconds per slide. The slides are set on a timer out of the control of the presenters, so the cumulative effect of 10 short presentations, just over six minutes each, leads to a fast and furious evening of entertainment and creative inspiration.
PechaKucha was originally brought to Austin by Herman Dyal and Carla Fraser, and Pentagram Austin partner DJ Stout and Lana McGilvray became the directors in 2011. McGilvray and Stout took over just before PK 10, and for that program Pentagram designed a limited edition poster that was given away to the attendees. Pentagram has continued to design posters for every PechaKucha evening since, totaling up to a series of twenty-seven collectible posters, all silkscreen printed by Tony Diaz of Industry Print Shop. Two or three PechaKucha Austin Nights are organized every year.
PechaKucha Austin has featured presenters from a wide array of creative endeavors, including graphic designers, painters, sculptors, architects, photographers, collagists, musicians, cartoonists, writers, slam poets, tap dancers, graffiti artists, community activists, choreographers, philanthropists, composers, interior designers, chefs, comedians, filmmakers, Freemasons, fashion designers, sign makers, actors, puppeteers and burlesque dancers. The program has included established personalities and amateurs, professionals and hobbyists, speakers well into their later years and even a 13-year-old architecture enthusiast.
Another PechaKucha tradition is that each event is held in a different and unique venue, and these distinct locations have become the inspiration for many of the posters.
About Design Austin
Design Austin is a startup cultural 501c3 nonprofit launched in 2024. We are dedicated to furthering the practice and appreciation of good design in all its forms through 1) public-facing events, experiences, and products; and 2) collaborations and advocacy with and for design practitioners.
