PechaKucha 50

Since its launch in 2008, the uniquely named PechaKucha events have been among the Holy City’s most prominent forums for the energizing of the local creative community. They have featured more than four hundred creatives from across the local spectrum. Beginning in 2017, these events have been produced collaboratively by the Charleston Music Hall and the Charleston Arts Festival.

In looking to zhuzh up our milestone FIFTIETH edition of PechaKucha on October 1, 2026, CMH and CAF have added an additional tier of creative energies to complement the standard formatting of presentations. For this very special PechaKucha, we will be interspersing performance pieces between presentations. Here is our stellar array of creative superstars:

Presenters:
Jai Jones – leader of brand events and partnerships at Twelve South and creator of Jai Eats
Andrea & Gustavo Serrano – creative collaborators across multiple community arenas including Kulture Klash
Lindsay Collins – Founder of EffinB Radio and arts advocate
Ryan Becknell – trainer, fitness expert, and member of the Dubplates
Rochelle Riley – director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, City of Charleston
Tonya Matthews – CEO and President of the International African American Museum or her designee
Kevan Hoertdoerfer – principal of Kevan Hoertdoerfer Architects, artist and educator;
Rachel Strickland – interdisciplinary performance artist, aerialist, storyteller, and choreographer.

Performers
Josh Silverman – PK-Charleston’s evermore DJ
Joel Hamilton – singer-songwriter as Mechanical River
LaFaye – powerhouse vocal artist and performer
Jenny Broe – dancer, performer and impresario behind Dance Lab
Asiah Mae – poet laureate, City of Charleston
Nameless Numberhead – comedy and creative duo focused on improv and other live comedy events
Rachel Strickland – see above
CONCEPT RXCH – sonic and visual artist.

Vikki Matsis, founder of Ohm Radio, will be our emcee for the evening.

Steve Stegelin, resident genius at Charleston City Paper, designed the poster.

PechaKucha, Japanese for “chit chat,” is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total) keeping presentation concise, fast-paced, and powerful. Charleston Music Hall is proud to be the official venue and producer of PechaKucha Charleston. The Music Hall, with help from our collaborators Charleston Arts Festival and artist liaison Terry Fox, hopes to focus on developing a strong, interesting, and diverse presenter line up from an array of different artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial disciplines and encourage collaboration, communication, and support in Charleston’s creative community.

Andrea and Gustavo Serrano are lifelong creative collaborators whose work exists at the intersection of fashion, culture, storytelling, and community.

Andrea Serrano is a fashion stylist, producer, and creative director. With decades of experience creating editorial and advertising campaigns, television content, live events, and brand experiences, she is known for transforming ideas into beautifully curated stories that inspire connection.

Gustavo Serrano is the co-founder of Kulture Klash, an interactive art festival built around music, culture, art, and community. A visionary entrepreneur and cultural curator, he has spent his career creating spaces and experiences that bring people together through creativity and conversation.

Long before the worlds of content creation and experiential marketing became mainstream, Andrea and Gustavo were building community through retail. Together they founded Charleston favorites B’zar and Suite Sole, two pioneering boutiques that became destinations for fashion, design, and culture, helping shape the city’s evolving creative landscape.

Today, their collaborative work spans fashion, media, travel, and events, combining Andrea’s editorial eye with Gustavo’s cultural vision. Together they create experiences that are equal parts stylish, soulful, and unforgettable—proving that great stories are born where creativity, culture, and human connection meet.

AsiahMae, stylized A$iahMae, (they/she) is a spirit of curiosity first and immediately after a Black, Southern, Non-binary writer, cultural worker and student of the land. A trans-disciplinary artist, their background spans across film, curation, production, performance and language arts. Their work is a series of evolving attempts to love, document, pay homage to and preserve The Black South and themself, in tandem. A$iahmae is a Watering Hole Fellow and has had their work featured in The Gibbes Museum of Art, Spoleto Festival USA, The Festival of Words: LA  and in This is The Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets, curated by Kwame Alexander, among others. They are currently serving as the Second Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC.

CONCEPT RXCH is a sonic and visual artist from Charleston, SC. His practice is an ongoing exploration of identity, memory, and cultural preservation through experimental media. His work fuses digital and analog processes to form abstract compositions in sound and image making that feels both archival and futuristic, pulling from memory while experimenting with his own personal interests in sampling, afro-futurism and alt-culture. He is particularly interested in how culture is stored, transferred, and sometimes lost across generations—and how art can act as resistance, remembrance, and revival.

Josh Silverman is a sound engineer, music nerd, and noise enthusiast whose DJ sets weave together breakbeat, rare groove, progressive metal, and electronic dance music.  Josh is the founder of Charleston Event Pros, a live production company focused on high-energy experiential programming and creating soundtracks for events people talk about the next morning. He’s also been the house DJ for PechaKucha since the early days.

“Mechanical River” is the independent musical project of land-based artist Joel T. Hamilton, known for introspective lyrics, diverse instrumentation and evolving sound, sometimes featuring a fuller “…Dream Band” for a more energetic/psychedelic energy, while the “bio” refers to his personal, often self-deescalating, third-person descriptions. It’s a distinct entity from other “river” music acts such as Little Mommy River Band or the Virgin Johnny River series.
Key Aspects of Mechanical River:

Artist: Joel T. Hamilton.
Most Recent Album: ‘Parts Work’ was released in late 2025.
Genre: music, earth-based cosmos songs, folk, with experimental/psychedelic elements.
Sound: Often described as hazy, sing along, mellow, crunchy, exciting and using unique instruments like guitar.
Evolution: Hamilton incorporates a raw, live sound with his “Dream Band” for cathartic, powerful tracks.
Bio Style: Known for honest, humorless, self-crippling artist biographies.

In essence: Mechanical River is Joel T. Hamilton’s musical project, with a sound and personality reflected in his music and writings

Kevan Hoertdoerfer founded Kevan Hoertdoerfer Architects in 2003. He is licensed in numerous jurisdictions in the United States and holds two degrees, including a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has over thirty years of experience in the highest quality residential, commercial, and institutional design and construction. Projects have been constructed throughout the United States and published nationally and internationally.

Academically Kevan has been a guest lecturer at Clemson University and the College of Charleston. Previously the founding principal of a design / build firm, Kevan was an assistant professor at Yestermorrow Design / Build School in Vermont and remains a licensed home builder and an accomplished craftsman.

In 2000 Kevan founded Publiccity, a Non-Profit organization geared towards the awareness and creation of public space. Projects have been part of the Spoleto Festival in Charleston and Publiccity has been featured in numerous magazine articles on public art. He has also created site specific art installations in the southeast.

LaFaye Benton is a powerhouse vocalist, producer, and creative director known for commanding stages and curating unforgettable live experiences. A U.S. Army veteran turned full-scale creative force, she has built a dynamic career at the intersection of music, entertainment, and large-scale event production.

As the frontwoman of her Rock-Soul band, LaFaye & The Fellas, she has delivered high-energy, soul-stirring performances across the Southeast, captivating audiences with a sound that blends grit, intention, and power. Her artistry extends beyond performances. She is a seasoned Entertainment Director, & Creative Director, leading programming and stage production for major festivals and cultural events that draw thousands of attendees annually.

LaFaye has played a pivotal role in shaping live event experiences throughout the region, overseeing talent booking, stage design, artist relations, and full-scale show execution. Her leadership and creative strategy have supported productions serving audiences of 30,000+ and elevated emerging and established artists alike.

Beyond the stage, she is a youth advocate and program leader committed to cultivating confidence and leadership through music and the arts. Her work bridges artistry and impact, ensuring that performance is not only seen—but felt.

Now stepping boldly into her next chapter, LaFaye returns to the stage with renewed strength, clarity, and command—bringing a voice sharpened by experience and a presence rooted in purpose.

I grew up an artist. A classically trained pianist since age five, a theatre major while at College of Charleston, and a music performance major while at Berklee College of Music. In an attempt to support my art habit, I began working in restaurants early on and cut my teeth in the world’s finest Michelin star establishments. My career in hospitality spans iconic places like Noma, Per Se, and The French Laundry. It was in those halls that I learned how to combine my understanding of art, in all of its forms, with the finer points of hospitality. I approach curation as if I were seasoning a dish. The aim is always to hit every pleasure sensor at the right moment and create an art experience greater than the sum of its parts. In 2016, I launched Effin B Radio, a podcast that took a tongue in cheek look at the world of restaurants.  That spawned a new chapter when I began getting requests to produce podcasts for other people, brands and entities under the name LMC Studios. In addition to being the Founder and Creative Director at LMC Studios I enjoy making unnecessarily elaborate meals for my partner, Jeremy Croft, and our three boys Julian, Luca, and Roman.”

Nameless Numberhead is a Charleston-based comedy and creative team, Maari Suorsa and Henry Riggs, who specialize in live comedy events and full-service production for hire. From training at the world-renowned comedy institutions of Chicago (The Second City, iO, and The Annoyance), to performing Off-Broadway (5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche); the 2 have toured nationally and even picked up some film & television credits along the way (Respect, The Inspectors). Nameless Numberhead combines over two decades of experience with a professional portfolio of live events, original sketch writing, improv performance, and film production. Since 2014, they have been curating comedy experiences across the country—touring nationally, teaching workshops, and building on Charleston’s independent comedy scene through their monthly variety platform Rip City CHS. Today, they produce both original works and client-driven content with the same level of energy, professionalism, and sharp wit; using the teachings and philosophy of Chicago style improvisation.

A Carolina native, Rachel Strickland is an interdisciplinary performance artist, aerialist, storyteller, and award winning choreographer. Her work combines circus arts, dance, and elements of the bizarre to create original, socially relevant performative works. To unearth aspects of the self which are buried, suppressed, and mutilated by the sanction of outside influences is both her subject matter and the intended effect on the viewer.

Classically trained in ballet since the age of three, she minored in dance at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and began her study of circus arts in 2007, developing a unique style and innovative approach to aerial hoop. Her work brought her international recognition, and she has coached, performed, and choreographed on four continents.

In addition to her genre defying performance work, Rachel is a professional development coach to artists and creative entrepreneurs. Her students have branded her “the patron saint of ambitious creatives”, a “creative midwife”, and affectionately, “mother of monsters.” As a creative mentor and speaker, Rachel is passionate about empowering artists to pursue their bravest and most authentic work.

She’s been featured in Authority Magazine and Thrive Global, and presented her stories and pedagogy on stages worldwide. Her work has been recognized by the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Busker’s Festival, RAW Performing Artist of the year in Seattle, WA, and “Best Bet” at the New Orleans Fringe Festival.

She lives in Hollywood, SC with her husband, Shaun. They have no children so don’t ask, but they would like to meet your dog.

ROCHELLE RILEY, writer by trade, warrior by necessity, is Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charleston, S.C. She spent almost 20 years as a nationally syndicated columnist for the Detroit Free Press, writing fiercely on behalf of children and women before becoming the City of Detroit’s Director of Arts and Culture, overseeing the Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship. Her pivot to arts advocacy and a different kind of public service was seamless. Her first project was the United States’ first city-wide memorial to victims of Covid-19. Fifteen funeral processions circled the city’s Belle Isle past 924 photo billboards of victims. More than 25,000 cars drove past victim photos, and millions viewed the processions online and on television. https://www.fox2detroit.com/video/845921. In 2022, her office launched the Detroit Mural Map to document every mural painted on the walls of the city. More than 850 murals and artist biographies are on the site now. ACE also co-hosted the nation’s first National Street Art Summit in 2023, which brought seven of the Top Ten cities creating murals to Detroit for a conversation about the growing mural movement. And in 2025, her office completed the Detroit Arts Alleys, transforming nine arts alleys into outdoor museums and commissioning 47 artists to install art in the alleys. The project was funded by $5.4 million in federal funds and $280,000 from the Knight Foundation. See five years’ worth of ACE work at https://heyzine.com/flip-book/fe7bbbab49.html. Rochelle left the newsroom after having been inducted into the Michigan, North Carolina and National Association of Black Journalists Halls of Fame. She was a co-producer on two films, Qasim Bashir’s “To Live and Die and Live,” and Dominique Morisseau’s “Foot Soldiers. She just completed her third book and is at work on a Broadway musical. A national expert on creative entrepreneurship, she also conducts training workshops for artists on management, branding and finance. Where in the world is Rochelle? Find out at www.rochelleriley.com. She has visited 29 countries and 36 states and counting.

Ryan Becknell is a certified personal trainer with 19 years in the industry and a lifelong Charleston local. From kid boogie to board, he’s been surfing Folly Beach his whole life. He first waded into the temple of fitness for reasons he’s since outgrown: vanity, a mirror, a young man’s ego. But the discipline and the science kept him hooked, leading him past muscles and toward something bigger: wellness of body and mind. This is the avenue to truly inspire others to reach their movement potential and be available for their loved ones.

Today, through his training business Gnarmaste, he coaches clients from ages 25 to 85 chasing their fitness and surf potential. Experience on the gym floor, expertise as a Certified Functional Strength Coach, and humility only the ocean can teach provide Ryan a unique foundation. You can calculate every rep in the gym, but you can’t tame the ocean. That tension between control and surrender is the foundation of Gnarmaste, the philosophy behind the name. Ryan has trained clients in person at Premier Fitness for the past 15 years, and is proud to be part of the first generation of coaches aiming to retire as trainers.

Vikki Matsis is the President and co-founder of Media Reform, SC, the nonprofit organization that brought commercial free Ohm Radio 96.3FM to Charleston’s airwaves in 2015. Ohm Radio Charleston is the only listener-supported, community radio station that focuses on local music and public affairs programming in our community.
Vikki is also the founder and organizer of the American Hostel Conference and the manager of the Notso Hostel. She is the author of Inside An American Hostel, a guidebook for managers and aspiring owners, and is a former freelance writer with over 150 publications.

Vikki has been a property manager and realtor in Charleston since 2012 and was the featured realtor on the TV series, Tiny House Hunters. She is a singer songwriter that has released two EP’s, From Dusk to Dawn (2014) and Good Life (2017).

Vikki is a graduate from CofC with a bachelor of science in 2003 and her masters degree in 2022. She is also a NOLS Alaska graduate and holds her permaculture certification with the Permaculture Institute of Northern California. In 2016 she was voted one of Charleston’s 50 Most Progressive. Vikki has lived in Charleston, SC since 2003 and loves making music with her husband, and enjoying time with her son, daughter and two cats.