A staple location in San Antonio’s roaming speaker series, the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre will host PechaKucha Vol. 27 on Tuesday.
Devised by Japanese architects in 2003, PechaKucha is a rapid-fire presentation series that has popped up in more than 900 cities worldwide. San Antonio’s interpretation came to be in 2011, and the event has become a quarterly staple on arts and culture calendars across the city.
Each speaker gets six minutes and 40 seconds – 20 seconds per 20 PowerPoint slides – to talk about things that make them and others tick; discuss topics at the center of public discourse; explain a concept, a craft, or a profession; or tell a compelling story. The element of surprise is one of the series’ big draws and has made for some memorable events in the past.
The event is open to the public, with a $5 minimum suggested donation. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Texans impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
For tickets, click here.
The night will kick off with a happy hour featuring a cash bar and bites and sips from Bakery Lorraine, Ming’s Thing, King’s Hwy Brew & Q, Jenn Riesman for Silo, and Fremonti Coffee, and tunes by The AM Project at 6:30 p.m.
Presentations, emceed by News 4 San Antonio anchor Randy Beamer and auctioneer Rob Vogt, will commence at 7:30 p.m.
Here are PechaKucha San Antonio Vol. 27’s presenters (biographies provided by PechaKucha):
Patty Ortiz, Artist
Patty Ortiz is an artist and curator who has exhibited artwork in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad. Her grants and commissions include a permanent public art piece mounted at the Denver International Airport in 1992. From 2000 to 2014, Ortiz was variously programs director, curator, and executive director at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, Museo de las Americas in Denver, and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio. In 2014, she retired from arts management to focus solely on her art practice.
Magaly Chocano, Digital Entrepreneur
Magaly Chocano, a native of Madrid, Spain, founded Sweb Development in 2008 as a web, mobile app development, and social media marketing firm. Today Sweb Development is an award-winning digital agency that services digital marketing and software development needs worldwide. Chocano has been recognized as one of the 10 most fun and fearless Latinas by Cosmopolitan magazine, awarded the SXSWi Social Revolución Innovator award, recognized as the Small Business of The Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and is in the Women’s Hall of Fame for Technology.
Bill Sibley, Author
A versatile writer, Bill Sibley’s work has spanned from writing for television’s “The Guiding Light” to serving as contributing editor at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, to seeing his work produced off-Broadway and regionally. Author of more than a dozen screenplays, two novels, and numerous magazine and newspaper articles, Sibley wrote the San Antonio Current’s column “The Great Eccentrics of San Antonio” for several years. In 2015, he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and in his “free time” he co-founded and emcees the yearly Literary Fest, Dobie Dichos, oversees three family ranches, and at least once a year dusts off his passport to wander the globe in search of “Parts Unknown.”
Charlie Biedenharn, Owner/Operator
Charlie Biedenharn was born in San Antonio in 1982. He has a B.A. in English from University of the Incarnate Word and a master’s degree from The University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Before returning to San Antonio, Biedenharn lived on both coasts of the U.S. and has had several opportunities to travel abroad. In 2011, he teamed up with pastry chefs Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng to form Bakery Lorraine. Their small farmer’s market creation quickly grew from a card table to brick and mortar house, to multiple locations across San Antonio. The trio’s newest venture, Maybelle’s Donuts and Fried Pies inside The Bottling Department at the Pearl Brewery, is named after Biedenharn’s late canine friend Maybelle. When he’s not working, Biedenharn enjoys spending time outdoors, visiting with his grandmother, playing with his dogs, and collecting tattoos.
Lilly Gonzalez, Book Nerd
Lilly Gonzalez came out of the womb reading a book, thoroughly upset by the interruption. She grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and spent her childhood with her nose in a book. She earned two degrees at Northwestern University and wound up spending 14 years in Chicago. She’s worked along the border with detainees facing deportation and in public affairs at the MacArthur Foundation. Gonzalez joined the San Antonio Book Festival team as communications director in 2015. She is currently re-reading Harry Potter for the third time.
Nathan Felix, Composer/Music Director
Nathan Felix is a classical composer and music director for From Those Who Follow the Echoes, a local street choir that reimagines and reactivates public spaces. Felix grew up in Austin and toured internationally as a guitarist before getting the itch to compose for orchestra. Now a self-taught composer, his symphonies have been premiered in Bulgaria, Portugal, Denmark, Mongolia, and the U.S., and his music has been featured on the BBC, MTV, NPR, and PBS.
Kellen Walker, Artist
Kellen Walker is an artist who makes performances, installations, objects, and perfumes. She writes, directs, and performs in collaboration with musicians, dancers, designers, and chefs. She’s exhibited at Blue Star Contemporary, nationally in Chicago, Kansas, and New York, and internationally in Finland. In 2015, she was a finalist for the Institute of Art & Olfaction’s award for Experimental Work with Scent. She teaches in the Studio Art/Expanded Media department at Texas State University.
Vincent Quaranto, Photographer/Roller Skater
Vincent is a professional photographer and roller skater with a passion for San Antonio’s big-city culture and connected small-town vibe. He has a unique background in roller skating, which is the result of his family’s rich history in the sport. Since 1959 his family has opened and operated a number of local rinks. That history of community connection fuels his respect for the ways a business can bring meaningful value to people’s lives. However, the fun of being a professional skater accounts for only one facet of his professional life. The rest of his time is spent as a visual artist and storyteller. With his adventurous spirit and sincere curiosity, it’s not uncommon to see him out skating the streets, camera in hand, connecting with and capturing the stories and beauty of San Antonio.
Thanks to the Downtown Tuesday Program, free self-parking for PechaKucha is available in the Mid-City/Houston Street Parking Garage located on the corner of College and Navarro streets, across from the Omni La Mansion Hotel. Additional free self-parking is available at the St. Mary’s Street Garage at 400 N. St Mary’s St., and at all street parking locations.
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