by Pamela Scott Crace

It was filmmaker Siloen Daley’s prowess with a giant hula hoop that struck me.

The scene: the first-ever Pecha Kucha night in Halifax. Organizer Peter Wuensch (one half of design partnership Breakhouse; more on that later) describes it as PowerPoint meets karaoke.

Pecha kucha is Japanese for chit-chat. The evening social format was conceived in Tokyo in 2003 to spark “creative people talking about creative things.” Events are taking place in more than 170 cities worldwide.

Popular at first with designers and architects, PK20/20 evolved into a loosely-juried platform for anyone who can present 20 thought-provoking slides in six minutes—in front of people who are drinking beer and talking amongst themselves.

The PK20/20 salon was an “idea space”—a concept shared at the first annual 21Inc Ideas Festival held in November in St. Andrew’s. This issue of Progress builds on conversations that were sparked at that landmark gathering.

Pecha Kucha and the 21Inc. Festival are places where ideas can flourish and take on a life of their own. This is how Dr. Richard Ogle, author of Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas, defines idea spaces. In St. Andrew’s Dr. Ogle explained to us how the economic power of this zeitgeist works. Such dynamic networks—however big or small, organized or chaotic—and the ideas they spawn, can result in boundless prosperity. The job of policy-makers is to figure out how to harness and deploy this renewable resource called creativity.

That is one of the central challenges of our time.

In this spirit, we invited an eclectic mix of ideapreneurs to share their wares with you. We also welcome back columnist Jim Meek, whose essay on page 31 relieves me of any further need to explain “how me became we.”

As for Breakhouse Design, its breakthrough creativity is behind some of the most successful brands and idea spaces in this region. Is what they do an art? Is it a science? Turn to page 20 and decide for yourself.

As for Siloen Daley’s animation and hooping, it haunts me still. The 20 slides were line drawings of familiar rooms in sepia tones. There was a poem read over a  loudspeaker. She wore a black jumper and cool boots with leggings.

It was infectious.