Creative chat - in 6 minutes 40 seconds

She loves Paris, creme brulee, architecture and the movie Amelie, and Virginia Warbrick has six minutes and 40 seconds to tell Palmerston North all about it.

A local artist and musician, Warbrick will be the first presenter at a show-and-tell night for creative types, known as Pecha Kucha.

The phrase means chit chat in Japanese, and the concept sees each presenter show a slideshow of 20 images, each of which appears on the screen for 20 seconds.

The first event of this kind was held in Tokyo by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, and has since been held in more than 200 cities around the world.

New Zealand was introduced to Pecha Kucha in Auckland in 2007.

It's since spread to Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Nelson, and Dunedin, and presenters have talked about everything from what it's like being a burlesque dancer, to getting lost in Hong Kong, and the difference between right and wrong.

Events are usually limited to one each month in a city.

Te Manawa Art Gallery has the sole rights to host the night in Palmerston North.

Mrs Warbrick said she wanted to present a side of herself many people wouldn't have seen.

"I just thought it's a good way of telling people about some of your more quirky ideas of how you understand the world, in a format that's already predetermined by somebody else, where you are one of a whole lot of ideas and concepts.

"You also get to meet other creative people in the city, who sometimes you don't get to interact with."

Her presentation consists of architectural photographs she took on a trip to Paris last year, but her narrative would be based on French film Amelie, she said.

"People may know me as doing arts or music, but this is about other interests in my life ... "

Although presenters are typically from the art, design, photography, architecture, or creative fields, Te Manawa spokeswoman Sarah Valentine said anyone was welcome.

It's not just about creative ideas, it's also people's different opinions about things in life and society.

The first Pecha Kucha evening will be at Te Manawa on November 26, at 7pm. Attendance is free. Interested presenters should contact Te Manawa by November 20.