PechaKucha: Volume Eight

By Hessa Al Habshi

Photos courtesy of PechaKucha.org

If you’ve been to previous PechaKucha Nights (PKNs) you know the rules: 20 slides per presentation and 20 seconds per slide. Each presentation must be six minutes and forty seconds. Those’re the rules. In this particular evening, Volume 8 of the Kuwait’s PechaKucha Nights, there were nine presenters in total.

The presenters came in and showcased their work with talent and charm. We first started off with a presentation by Zahra Ali Baba, whose presentation included a discussion of Kethra, a collaborative responsible for Kuwait’s pavilion in the 13^th International Architectural Exhibition in Venice . Then came Deema Al-Ghunaim and Dalal Al-Hashash, and they impressed the audience with their presentation: AlSawaber Project: Personal Histories. After that was an eloquent presentation by Heba Al-Ali about Birth Kuwait called Birth by Design.

My two personal favourite presenters went up next: Ehsan Abdulrasoul and Yousef Abdulaal. Their comedic approach in their presentation, Read a Book: Restoring the Lost Art of Reading was rather refreshing. Following their act was Dalal Al-Bannay who talked about Archicamp, a summer program set to introduce high school graduates to architecture; and Lewis Chapman who discussed his project about creating a community of talented people. 

The evening came to an end with another favourite of mine, Asseel Al-Yacgoub. Usually by the end of a lineup of performances, the crowd start to get either tired or chatty; but Asseel managed to keep everyone patient and listening to another comedic and enlightening performance: Your Driving Handbook: State of Kuwait.

The place was perfect for such an event: the rooftop of Cinemagic in Salmiya, especially during the cool weather at night. Everyone was either seated on the chairs provided or they sat on the ground in front of the stage, some came prepared heaving pillows and cushions.

The evening was organized by Dr. Asseel Al Ragam, an assistant professor at Kuwait University’s College of Architecture. Dr. Asseel brought the forum to Kuwait after participating in the event herself while in Graduate School. Her support team were KASA (Kuwait Architecture Students Association) .

The eighth volume of PechaKucha Nights was interesting and informative. But don’t worry if you missed this one, more will be coming this year. If you’d like the opportunity to showcase your creativity you can contact pechakuchakuwait@gmail.com or visit their website.