April K. Magill – Architect

I grew up playing in the woods and building forts in rural south east Virginia.

I attended VA Tech and pursued an education in Architecture.  In my 4th year, I traveled abroad through the cities of Western Europe, where I was first introduced to the beautiful works of sculpture and architecture in Barcelona by famous architect Antoni Gaudi. These sketches and photographs would stick with me through time and later influence my draw towards a more Organic Architecture.

My passions lie not only within the world of design and architecture, but also in the world of building….creating….and working with my hands.  I believe that in order to become a good Architect, I also must become a Builder as well.  A need and a want to explore materials and to build with my hands has not only allowed me to participate in many traditional construction projects, but also led me down my newest path, Natural Building.  I left Blacksburg, VA in 2004 with a BA in Architecture and headed to the coastal lowcountry lands of Charleston.  My desire to be in and around old, well-kept architecture as well as a beautiful natural world pushed me here, where I have lived and worked for the past 8 years in the architectural industry.  I worked for 3 of Downtown Charleston’s Architecture firms, became a Licensed Architect in 2010, and served as Project Manager/Lead Architect on multiple   projects before embarking on my own.  Always itching to get out from behind the desk and into the fields, with a strong foundation of experience under me, I created AK Magill Architecture, LLC in 2011 and now, Root Down Designs (a subsidiary), in 2012.

I am:

• Finding Ways to Integrate the Natural Environment into the Built World
• Believing in Community-Built Projects
• Believing that Good, Functional, and Beautiful Architecture CAN BE Affordable

I live on James Island, Charleston, SC with my partner Matt McQueen of Handcrafted, LLC and our dog Boney (my office mate).  Our house serves as my creative building ‘playground.’

Deborah Kaufman

Jenny Badman, Writer

My first name ain’t baby. It’s Jenny. Miss Badman, if you’re nasty.

I’m a writer, storyteller, brand builder, blogger, creative, rabble-rouser and loud laugher.

I am fortunate to write for and collaborate with some wonderfully talented graphic designers, web experts, marketers, filmmakers, and characters.

I came to Charleston nine years ago in a tiny car jam-packed with most of my worldly possessions. Charleston is a place unlike any other. Being here is a wholly visceral experience. One of the most intense and lovely sensory overloads I’ve ever had. Which makes it a constantly inspiring and surprising place. Also, they have lots of bourbon and sweet tea.

I’m the author of Rants, a book of poetry. Together with a director/actor and a posse of talented local actors, I co-produced a play based on my book for Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival a few years ago.

This is what author/poet Richard Peabody had to say about my book…and me for that matter: “If I locked you in a room with Jenny Badman you would: a) understand the English sport of cricket; b) realize that Britney, Mandy, et al., are Tiffany and Debbie Gibson redux; c) fight the urge to pour crème de menthe on your skin; d) get down on all fours and bark like the dog that you are. If I locked you in a room with Jenny Badman’s book of poems you would: a) lock all of your daughters in a convent; b) ingest vast quantities of French toast; c) say 1,000 Hail Marys and whip yourself senseless with brambles; d) quit your boring job and move to Bali. If I locked you in a room where Jenny Badman was performing her poems you would: buy copies of this book and become her disciples, spreading the words of J. Bad girl to far corners of the globe.”

I was born and bred in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey (exit number upon request). This means I know how to procure a great bagel, a delicious slice and the locations of at least three late night diners within a 10-mile radius. While I have spent more time than I care to admit in traffic on the Turnpike or the Parkway, I can also say that I know the beauty of the Garden State in my bones, from the rolling, verdant hills to that perfect stretch of sand and sea at the end of an old beach road.

Writing is part of who I am and my place in this world. Though my work and the people, things and moments I surround myself with are far richer than words will allow, I never stop trying to find just the right ones.

Rebekah Jacob – RJB Gallery

An expert in the diverse art and photography of the American South, Rebekah Jacob has created her gallery with skilled enthusiasm and a deep, personal knowledge of all aspects of the art market. Combining dedicated scholarship with practical experience, Jacob earned a B.A. in English and M.A in Art History at the University of Mississippi and later taught Art History with a Southern focus there and at two other universities. She holds a Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts from New York University and is Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America.

Since its founding, the gallery has subscribed to the highest level of connoisseurship and scholarship with an in-depth focus on modern art and photography of the American South.  Jacob has curated several works on paper exhibitions that explore contemporary artists, such as Tim Hussey and Kevin Taylor, working in the tradition of the mid-century modernists:  “found materials,” abstract surfaces, quotation, and non-conventional materials like house paint and coffee.  Recently, Jacob contributed to Tim Hussey’s biographical documentary Running by Sight: A Visual Artist’s Journey, which follows the artist through a year of inspiration, production, and gallery exhibitions.  Jacob has also focused on special projects that explore the Civil Rights and Martin Luther King era by exhibiting photojournalists James Karales, Ernest Withers, among others.  Currently, Jacob and Monica Karales, Executrix of the James Karales Estate, are co-editing a publication on Karales’ Civil Rights images.  Consistently, Jacob curates a multi-media exhibitions that brings together progressive artists-seasoned and emerging-who have expanded the conventional definitions of their medium, intersecting currents of contemporary art today.

Well-versed in the emerging art scene of Cuba, Jacob saw an opportunity to juxtapose the work of the two regions and has curated several exhibitions of Southern and Cuban artwork in both Havana and throughout the Southeast. Projects have included a show of Southern photographer Milly Moorhead at the 2000 Cuban Biennale and later at the Bacardi Museum in Santiago, as well as an exhibition of renowned modern Cuban photographers Alberto Korda, Roberto Salas, and Raul Corrales at the Southside Gallery in Oxford, Mississippi. Spring 2008, in collaboration with the Center for Cuban Studies, Jacob curated a multi-media exhibition Beyond the Door at the Avery Institute, which included five Cuban artists living and working in the land of their birth.

At the helm of Charleston’s visual art scene, Jacob was honored top “50 Most Progressive” by Charlie Mag and voted top “10 Most stylish” by Charleston Magazine.  She has served as a judge for publications highlighting top emerging Southern artists such as theOxford American.  Jacob’s expertise continues to put her in demand as a consultant for numerous private and corporate collectors.  Always seeking out the very best talent through active roles in professional organizations, travels, and a strong personal network, Jacob strives to present a selection of high-quality work to a wide audience of art enthusiasts with her trademark passion and dedication.

Olivia Pool – Creator & Publisher of Art Mag

Many, many moons ago, Olivia appeared on a tiny dot of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean called the Seychelles Islands. She was also lucky enough to have studied in France several times. She now calls a fantastically crooked old house in downtown Charleston her home. She is the creator and publisher of Art Mag, a print and online publication focused on telling the world how fantastic Charleston’s creative community is. She also runs another company called Art Pimp Consultants that specializes in business coaching, event planning, PR and marketing. Think of it as business therapy for artists. Because having only two business endeavors seems boring, she also has a side gig as the director of the Charleston branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. She is completely obsessed with circuses and elephants and never leaves home without her emergency clown nose. This Libra-sun, Leo-moon, Sagittarius-rising female loves long walks on the beach, decaf lattes, and her toy poodle, Mika Snuggles.

Signe Pike – Author

Signe Pike is a travel writer and author of Faery Tale: One Woman’s Search for Enchantment in a Modern World. The memoir received glowing reviews from Harper’s Bazaar, Women’s Adventure Magazine, and Charleston magazine, among others. Pike has been featured on National Public Radio’s “To the Best of Our Knowledge” along with Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, and A.S. Byatt. She lives in Charleston, where she is at work on her next exploration into things unseen.

Sarah O’Kelley – Glass Onion

Life just doesn’t get any better than a tomato sandwich on white bread with plenty of Duke’s mayonnaise, according to Sarah. Her dark secret happens to be that during her childhood in Georgia she actually knew nothing but Hellman’s. Yet, somehow she still managed to find a career in food. A winding path via kitchens and keyboards landed her jobs with Emeril and various publications in New Orleans and Charleston. This and her gift for gab enables her to talk entirely too much about all food topics. So, she will be happy to explain every nuance of the Glass Onion to any willing person but don’t get her started on mayonnaise.

Hirona Matsuda – Artist

Using found objects Hirona Matsuda constructs miniature installations and contraptions.  Her materials range from discarded fishing rods to preserved bumble bees, and her towering library of objects provide her with a never-ending source of inspiration.  Visiting her studio can be overwhelming, but most are instantly drawn into the oddly familiar but alternate world that exists there.

Matsuda’s impulse to collect the remnants of our lives overlaps with her interest in studying the past.  Her background in Anthropology is definitely noticeable in the excavation and cataloguing that is a predominant part of her process.  Her love of all things small and old, though, might have started at birth.

Since graduating from the College of Charleston in 2007, Matsuda has shown locally at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art, Redux Contemporary Art Center, and various other private galleries.  She is currently represented by Michael Mitchell Gallery on King St. and will be having her premier show there, with local painter Lisa Shimko at the end of this month.

Pecha Kucha 13 will be held on Wednesday, March 14th.

This is the first Pecha Kucha that will have all-female speakers. We’ve heard after past PKN’s that the ladies are often underrepresented as speakers. Well, not this time. March 14th is ladies night.

Speakers Include:

1. April Magill – Sustainable Materials Architect
2. Rebekah Jacob – RJK Gallery
3. Deborah Kaufman – Sustainability Institute
4. Signe Pike — Author
5. Hirona Matsuda – Visual Artist
6. Jenny Badman – Writer
7. Olivia Pool – Publisher, Art Mag
8. Sarah O’Kelley – Glass Onion

Tickets will go on sale next Wednesday, March 7th.

Location to be announced.

Follow us on Twitter @pkchs or Facebook to keep up with the latest information on all things Pecha Kucha and Parliament.

Josef Myers – Co-Founder, Visualive

Having studied under icons such as Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee (They were on the second floor. He was on the first.), Josef aims to reestablish popularity as a mere side effect of originality, talent, and influence. He’s energized by the thought of looking as interesting as his conversation. And he wishes to feel personally connected with as many people as possible, in order to inspire them with his ideas.

Josef is one of the co-founders of Visualive – a new medium and promotional tool, four years in the making, which enables individuals to promote their events on a network of TVs. He describes Visualive as “just the tip of the iceberg… lettuce, but the creativity of our users is what makes for the yummy salad”. In addition to Visualive, he has created a name for himself through experimental street dance. “Dancing is my passion,” he says. “Through movement, insanity becomes sellable. I get to convey extraordinary power and emotion through this seemingly restricted meat suit of mine.”

This Charleston native feels he still has yet to dream as big as he will. He is committed, however, to staying an ambassador of ideas, merging our environment with media. Whether or not that means programming the clouds to spell out messages, he is planning to be a huge player in creative entertainment media. All in all, he’d like to “get rid of the box, so that know one else has to think outside of it ever again”.

Will Willis – Co-Founder, Visualive

Will Willis is a co-founder of Visualive, a Charleston-based technology start-up that is advancing the way people promote and discover events happening in their city. Visualive is a network of TVs found in popular restaurants, bars, and local hotspots that showcases upcoming Charleston events with short promotional videos and images. Will was born and raised in Williston, SC where he mastered the arts of castrating cattle, driving tractors and hatching emu eggs on his grandfather’s farm. Will began developing Visualive in 2008 with his 2 partners while attending CofC where he earned his bachelors in political science later that year. He worked in politics as the assistant new media director of the SC New Democrats before becoming operations manager of Visualive full time. Will is obsessed with all things hip-hop, encourages people to listen to Bizzy Bone and he likes turtles.