KEY POINTS:
Six minutes and forty seconds. That's all you get at a show-and-tell night for creative types called Pecha Kucha.
The phrase is Japanese, and means the sound of chatter or conversation.
Which is what brings 300 or so artists, designers and others from the creative industries to New Zealand's first Pecha Kucha night at an inner-city Auckland club.
The brainchild of Englishman Mark Dytham of Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architects, the format involves presenters showing 20 slides and speaking on each image for just 20 seconds - often with hilarious results.
The non-profit event, started in Japan four years ago as a way of paying the rent at the architect's offices, has spread via the web to more than 60 cities around the world since going global about 18 months ago.
Mr Dytham, in New Zealand to judge the country's best home for Home & Entertainment magazine, says Pecha Kucha offers a great opportunity for budding creatives to be heard - and the 20-second format keeps them focused.
"One of the problems if you're trying to break in [to the market] is there is nowhere to show your work."
Described by Wired magazine as a combination of slam poetry, design-school degree show and vaudeville, Pecha Kucha lived up to its billing at its debut at Galatos this week.
More than 300 people were treated to 12 presentations.
They included engineer Hamish Neville, artist John Radford - who attacked "facadism", the retention of parts of old buildings in front of high-rise towers - and designer Stu Barr, who shared his family portraits. Glass artist Layla Walter risked giving away trade secrets in her rapid-fire show.
Artist/programmer Luke Duncalfe gave up the microphone to his iPod. Recent immigrant German Anet Kuhla ended her presentation on her interior design work with the plea - "employ me".
Mr Dytham was impressed.
"It was fantastic. You don't know what amazing talent you have and from this you're going to get a lot of cross-fertilisation - it is happening in every city we do it."
Although he has rejected commercial sponsorship for the concept so far, Mr Dytham has plans to set up a foundation through which the best presenters in New Zealand could be invited to overseas events.
"We're just looking at the right way of doing it without crass advertising."
Local organisers Luka Hinse and Andrew Barrie say they plan to run four events a year in Auckland and seek partners around the country.
Mr Dytham stressed that although the idea spread via the net, it is also the perfect antidote to the web's so-called social networks such as MySpace.
"Internet networks send you from an open space where you can talk to people into your own room and [Pecha Kucha] is the complete opposite."
Keep on chattering.
