Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

For the office dwellers reading this that last bit probably sounds like a blessed relief. People tend to use the opportunity to delve into a particular obsession that’s Any road, it’s a global thing and there’s a Birmingham one that’s coming up to it’s fifth edition.

I’ve just been flicking through the archive of previous presentations (filmed by Mindriot Productions) and particularly enjoyed:

• John Kirriemuir: ‘Goodbye Birmingham’ or ‘What is home’?
• Helga Henry: Fear of public speaking
• Sam Underwood

They’re only short so give em a spin.

Jo Hardy is the organiser, so if you fancy having a go then get in touch with her. Birmingham’s Pecha Kucha has a Twitter account here and a website here.

The next one will be on 20 July. I’m thinking about putting myself forward as a presenter but don’t quite know what I might talk about. I have a feeling it’d probably be about free kicks. Hmm.

First, let’s start by defining the term sabbatical. I’m with Wikipedia on this and would simply define it as “a rest from work, a hiatus, lasting from two months to a year”. I wouldn’t elaborate on this myself, as the key to a sabbatical is simply to have a break from work, from the everyday. For me, these are some of the major benefits of doing so:

Freshness

Our brains are great at organising stuff and providing near instant, ingrained responses. That’s a really important ability to help us function as human beings. Clearly you don’t want to think “what’s that noise?” every time your phone rings, or spend ages assessing the options for dodging that bus.

The more we do the same things the more ingrained our responses become. This is a real killer where creativity is concerned. If you make a concerted effort to regularly change stuff around in your life then you can guarantee greater freshness of ideas, but in all honesty, how many of you have deliberately done something that scares you recently?

Ponder o’clock

This one is simple; time to think about nothing in particular aids creativity. “Aha! moments” require a wandering mind.

Perspective

Building processes to “keep it real” into your daily routine is a start but I believe a truer perception of what you do and aim to achieve is only possible through a sustained period of time off work. The perspective gained through this can only be trumped by one thing in life, trauma…and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Time to make THOSE ideas happen

The 99% are right in their slogan “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making them happen.” Creative people tend to have lots of ideas for lots of great projects they could bring to fruition, if only they had the time. Have a quick think about your ideas that fit this description. The world would be a better place if they saw the light of day, right?

New opportunities & relationships

Less time in the office / studio means more time meeting new people. Unless you decide to lock yourself in a box for the entirety of your sabbatical this is pretty much a given and good things will come of it!

Financial reward

As an artist/creative you are rewarded for the quality of your ideas and your passion to make them happen. If you are passionate about what you do, you’ll come back to it – only bigger, better and with renewed ideas and drive!

Life is (very) short!

Take two minutes to think about what you are doing with your life. Let’s assume you broadly like it. OK, why not get better at it? Or, if in the end you find there’s something out there you’d rather be doing instead then that’s cool too. The key is to give yourself the space to consider this properly.

After all that…just watch this

Still not convinced? Think it’s unworkable? Think the financial reward bit is just a red herring? Then, please spend 17.5 minutes watching a lecture delivered by the designer Stefan Sagmeister, at TED in 2009. Says it all…

http://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off.html

—————

By Sam Underwood

Having set myself up for a fall by talking so enthusiastically about sabbaticals, why not keep an eye on how I get on at: http://sabbatical.mrunderwood.co.uk. Oh, and for a quick overview of some of my plans here’s my recent Pecha Kucha 20×20 presentation on the subject: http://www.vimeo.com/19477253
Stereographic will continue to be run by cofounder George Benson.

The site currently features work by George and Sam, but they’re keen to get more photographers on board in the near future.

They’re currently at the collecting contacts stage, so if getting your work featured on the site is something you may be interested in, sign up to their mailing list to receive news on when the site is accepting portfolio reviews.

Since launching, they’ve also been featured on 4Homes and are supplying to Mydeco, so you’d clearly be in good hands!