It started, like many things, with an email.
Last Spring I sent a message to a few key people at the Surface Design Association about the upcoming Intensive at Arrowmont School of Art and Craft, Made/Aware. I explained that my priority in attending conferences was to meet others who work with similar materials, to network (which is not a dirty word) with people outside this far northwest corner of the country. I suggested that it would be interesting to have a session of the Intensive be a Pecha Kucha-style panel of SDA Members talking about their work as a way of breaking the ice. I even offered, in said email, to help organize the session. To my surprise, I heard back from Diane Sandelin, then Director of the organization, the same day that, Yes!, they loved the idea and would I coordinate it?
So here I am, six months later, with my bags packed and ready to head to the airport to fly to Tennessee to moderate 10x20x20 where 10 artists will present their work to the 200 SDA Members at the Made/Aware. I was thrilled that Marci Rae McDade came on board to help out. She has so many skills and is so easy to work with that it has been a pleasure. Lynn Luukinen totally had my back on the technical end of the project (not my forte) and everyone at SDA has been supportive at every step.
So what is a Pecha Kucha-style presentation? Pecha Kucha means “chit chat” in Japanese. The format was developed by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture in Tokyo in 2003. It is a simple, yet concise format in which each presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds each, speaking while the visuals advance automatically. There are now Pecha Kucha Nights in 800 cities around the world.
Putting this together has been a good stretch for me. Developing the call for entries, creating a rubrik for the jurying process, choosing the artists, and then pulling together all of the technical aspects (giant Powerpoint file), and writing short bios for each artist has really expanded my skill set.
And Saturday should be payback for all that went into it. I’m very excited to hear these artists talk about their work. My focus in choosing the presenters was to show the greatest variety in both working with materials and techniques and how they are translating those into work with socially engaged practices. Half of the presenters will be talking about how they work in community, and the other half will speak about how their artwork addresses vital issues of today. Presenters are quilters, embroiderers, knitters, weavers, chemists, and ceramicists.
Mary Fran Brandenberger will open the program with Silk Creations, a project which teaches women on the edge of homelessness to paint silk scarves, not only to develop their creative skills but also learn managing inventory, marketing, sales, teaching and mentoring other women in the program. We will close with Lexie Abra Johnson, a recent graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, suggesting through her interactive installation work, “Let’s All Be Nice to Each Other.”
Here is the full list of presenters:
Silk Creations, Mary Fran Brandenberger
Color Inside Out, Peggy Cox
Mistaken Point, Kelly Bruton
Reflections on an Ordinary Life, Roz Ritter
Njabini Wool Crafters in Kenya, Janice Knausenberger
Vantage Point, Maggy Hiltner
The Legacy of Nellie Save, Nancy Crasco
Knitting the News & Other Stories, Adrienne Sloane
The Empty Bowls Project 25 Years, Lisa Blackburn and John Hartom
Let’s All Be Nice to Each Other, Lexie Abra Johnson
All of this, along with thoughtful programming of Made/Aware from leaders in the field working in environmental and socially responsible manners, presented at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in October. I’ve never been to Tennessee and I’m going to be there during leaf season!
My hopes are that this panel, 10x20x20: Socially Engaged Work by SDA Members, provides a way for the people at the Intensive to get to know each other. I hope that it opens doors for connections between attendees and makes “networking” as simple as friends starting the middle of a long conversation.
