We host a series of brief lectures by York, PA's makers and doers, who talk about their craft. Our speakers come from varied backgrounds, but they all work systematically and intentionally to create visceral experiences.
PechaKucha Night York utilizes the 20x20 PechaKucha presentation format: 20 slides that automatically advance every 20 seconds. Learn more at PechaKucha.org.
Featured Speakers AT August 15, 2018 PK NIght Event
Our tenth event featured seven presenters talking about their respective crafts.
Neal Dodson
CounterNarratives
Famous people and red carpets are part of Neal Dodson’s work as a film producer. But the shine isn’t always what it might seem to be. Dodson pulls back the curtain a bit on the craft it takes to be able to tell stories that he believes are worth telling.
Neal Dodson was born and raised in York where his parents, retired teachers, still live. He went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He splits his time between New York and Los Angeles with his wife, actress Ashley Williams, and their two young sons, Gus and Odie. Dodson is a former actor, an infrequent writer, and a feature film and television producer. He assumes you don’t know what a producer does and he understands that entirely. You haven’t seen most of his independent movies, but the ones you might have seen include: MARGIN CALL, Robert Redford in ALL IS LOST, and A MOST VIOLENT YEAR. His movies have played Sundance, Cannes, the Berlinale, and at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. They have won Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes, National Board Of Review Awards, Gotham Awards, and have been nominated for Oscars and lost. Dodson has four movies in post-production right now. He is always looking for money to pay for the next ones. He also appeared on a whole season of a reality tv show because Ben Affleck declined.
Ellen Ehlenbeck
Sure...Why Not?!
Discovering the wow-factor of life’s unexpected possibilities.
Ellen Ehlenbeck is an installation artist, painter, musician, teacher, graphic designer, traveler, gardener, and enthusiastic fan of downtown York.
Chelsea Foster
The Quiet Noise of A Creative Introvert
Since childhood, Chelsea’s imagination has gotten her into trouble, but not the type of trouble you would expect. From once battling the fear of phone calls and conversations with strangers to now owning her own small business, Chelsea will highlight how design and lettering have enabled her to overcome fear by shifting her imagination to capitalize on creative liberty.
Chelsea Foster is a 2009 graduate of the Art Institute of York, Pennsylvania (formerly Bradley Academy). She majored in graphic design and has been employed within the design and photography industry for nine years. In 2014, her client base had become large enough to support the launch of her own small business. Her artist studio is located in downtown York, PA but her design, website, and photography clients span across the world, including Hong Kong, California, Texas, and many places in between. Chelsea specializes in customized hand lettering projects, which include wedding invitations, murals, signage, and client requests. Since the beginning of 2017, she has taught more than 35 hand lettering workshops up and down the East Coast.
Soji Otuyelu
Blessed Are the Songwriters
Exploring the need to write and sing songs; why it is therapy for the songwriter and the audience.
Soji Otuyelu has been writing songs for two decades; first for the joy of composition, and then for the need to better explain his complicated experience. He has used songwriting at all emotional peaks, valleys, and everything in between to share his experience with others so that we can connect as one to the same united language of music.
Andrius Polonikas
The Art of Creation
Andrius Polonikas has always thought of himself as an artist, but as he gets older, he realizes that he’s more of a creator and that's pretty cool with him. In his presentation, he will show what he creates.
Andrius Polonikas is an artist who works in many mediums, from acrylics to illustration to light installations. His art can be described as having a contemporary, whimsical feel with an emphasis on color and composition. With a background in design, but no formal art training, he enjoys learning, experimenting, and implementing different techniques to create visually stunning works of art. Born in Lithuania, he moved to the United States when he was six years old and currently resides in York, Pennsylvania. His art can be found all around city galleries and surrounding areas, from large scale window paintings on Market Street to murals inside and outside buildings spanning all the way to Lancaster. As a growing artist, he is always busy creating new, bold, and exciting projects that push the limits of his creativity.
Ian Sheffer
Are You Sure, Doc?
What’s going on? Why do I feel like this? Are you sure that’s what’s going on? Now as much as ever, medicine is a profession which trades in uncertainty, and patients rely on the medical establishment for guidance and expertise. But now more than ever we also live in a society which tells us we can know everything and answer every question, and that just about anyone can be an expert. How does a modern clinician balance the expectations of modern medicine with the oath we all take to “first, do no harm?” How do they craft a modern practice of medicine?
Ian G. Sheffer, MD, MBe is an assistant professor of medicine specialising in Infectious Diseases and HIV care at Drexel University College of Medicine. He sees patients at Hahnemann University Hospital, Partnership Comprehensive Care Practice, The Dorothy Mann Center for Pediatric and Adolescent HIV, and at Drexel’s Outpatient Infectious Diseases & Travel Health Clinic, where he’s the director. After growing up in York, he studied Philosophy and Biology at UNC Wilmington, Bioethics at The University of Pennsylvania, and Medicine at Temple University. When he’s not seeing patients or teaching, you’ll most likely find him at the Bucks County Curling Club, throwing chunks of granite down a sheet of ice.
Joel Springer
Rock, Scissors, Paper: The Development of a Curiously Creative Mind
This presentation will follow the arc of Joel Springer becoming a creative. Who he is today is the product of four factors: Environment, Experience, Education and Experimentation.
Joel Springer’s fascination with photography began with the title sequence of the TV show “Love That Bob.” Magically, an image appeared on what looked like a blank piece of paper. When Joel was seven, he disappeared from the family album. A native of York County, Joel has not disappeared from the local scene. In addition to teaching photography and digital imaging at York College of Pennsylvania, he keeps a busy exhibition schedule. Locally, his work is seen at Studio Gallery 234. He has exhibited in Caracus, Venezuela; Yuma, Arizona; Montreal and Toronto, Canada; The Art of the State exhibition at the State Museum in Harrisburg, PA; Triennial V and VI exhibitions at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA; the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY; and the Phoenix Gallery in Chelsea, New York City.
FEATURED PRESENTERS AT OUR EVENT ON August 15, 2018. LEFT TO RIGHT: Andrius Polonikas, Chelsea Foster, Neal Dodson, Soji Otuyelu, Ian Sheffer, Ellen Ehlenbeck, Joel Springer.
Harrison Jones
