PechaKucha daily

Champaign-Urbana is having its PechaKucha Night Vol. 4 tonight (July 30), so to put you in the mood here’s a look at this past April’s Vol. 3, courtesy of organizer Christina Tapp.

Third time’s a charm! Champaign-Urbana’s PechaKucha Night Vol. 3 was held in April at the ever-so-accommodating Canopy Club. The anticipated event, held during our annual Boneyard Arts Festival, featured local spinner DJ Mertz and boasted over 350 people.

Environment designer and rockin’ emcee Andy Warfel jumpstarted the show into high gear and kept it rolling along with his trademark laid-back humor.

1. Our first presenter, Thorsten Bösch (who also happens to be, ahem, one of the PKN Chicago co-organizers) started off the night with interactive, collaborative light painting.

2. Artist, mural painter, educator, and curator Glen Davies talked about his travels with circuses and carnivals, as well as his exhibits in museums and galleries across the country.

3. Fishing With Dynamite presented on being Champaign-Urbana’s only professional comedy troupe. Best of all? They also provided hilarious entertainment for the after party!

4. Kevin Coulton, co-founder of software and trans-media design start-up Doomlaser, talked about the relationship between graphic arts and mathematics.

5. Songwriter Paul Kotheimer sang two songs—including the ever-popular “31 True Facts About My Girlfriend”—and discussed his music label Hand Made Records.

6. Andy Borbely discussed his journey from Ivy Leaguer to bar manager to whiskey connoisseur, providing his special libations at the bar (mmmmm!).

7. Joel Gillespie, representing Champaign-Urbana’s Bike Project, presented on how the organization educates and empowers the community with a welcoming space for bike repair, maintenance, and safety.

8. Architect Stewart Hicks showed us the way he thinks about the design of building and spaces—mixing the real and imaginary, combining existing structure with high-concept modern additions to create buildings that are works of art in their own right.

9. Chocophile Daniel Schreiber talked about his company, Flatlander Chocolate (one of only a handful of bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the U.S.) and discussed how eating chocolate should be treated as an event, just like sipping wine (or whiskey!).

10. Special guest presenter and fashion designer Ping Wu (from Project Runway) flew in from New York to talk about fulfilling her dream as a designer—and how her friends in Champaign-Urbana helped to foster that dream.

11. Entrepreneurial mastermind Matt Gornick discussed his commitment to building solutions based on what customers really want.

12. Sculptor—and aspiring naturalist—Chris Berti discussed ways he finds the beauty in the not-so-obvious aspects of nature and art.

Just wait until PKN Vol. 4—it’s an outdoor event, taking place OUTSIDE at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, July 30!

Photographs by Wallo Villacorta and Thorsten Bösch.