Friday, May 29, 2009

Up for a little chit chat?

Want to hear about great creative work? Join the conversation at Pecha Kucha Night. Pronounced Pe-CHAW Ke-CHAW, it means “chit chat” in Japanese. Already in 200 cities around the globe, the movement debuts in Tacoma 5:30 p.m. June 3 at the New Frontier Lounge.

Klein Dytham architecture created the event in Japan in 2003 as a way for young designers to meet, network and show their work. Each presenter shows 20 slide images for 20 seconds each, with six minutes and 40 seconds for each presentation—no go-backs, pauses or do-overs.

Some of Tacoma’s creative finest are set to present at Tacoma’s first PK Night. Volume 01 celebrates our hometown and 12 artists, musicians, designers, architects who influence it. The inaugural presenters include Jennifer Adams, Beautiful Angle, Oliver Dorris, Lisa Fruichantie, Elias Hansen, Rachel Moorehead, Chris Sharp, Michael Sullivan, Jennifer Weddermann-Hay, and Shannon Eakins and Marc Dombrosky.

For more information, visit www.pecha-kucha.org, then click on the link to Tacoma’s site. Email the organizer at pechakucha.tacoma@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to present at a future PKN.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Winter & Company to make historic preservation improvements

The City of Tacoma wants to make sure that new development work and historic preservation interests are in synch. Tacoma Community & Economic Development Department has selected the nationally known firm Winter & Company to make it happen. “We’re interested in providing more clarity and certainty for developers and the preservation community,” said Reuben McKnight, Historic Preservation Officer. For the $100,000 project, Winter & Company will scour the City’s development and historic preservation policies for inconsistencies and make recommendation for relevant updates to the City’s comprehensive plan; update the historic building inventory, which now numbers approximately 2,000 properties; and create a more user-friendly database of those properties. The City Council committed funds to this project and a related review of the City’s archaeological resource protection policies to make development easier while protecting the integrity of the City's unique historic building stock.