Pecha Kucha Hobart x AWBF 2025

With so much happening at the 2025 AWBF, you may have missed one of the most heartfelt and surprising events in the cultural and symposium program — so we’re bringing it to you in video form: Pecha Kucha Hobart x AWBF2025.

Curated by Pecha Kucha Hobart, this special event brought together storytellers from across disciplines and decades to reflect on wooden boats and the many lives they touch. From shipwrights to sailors, artists to adventurers, they shared stories of heritage, reinvention, connection, and imagination.

Pecha Kucha is a global storytelling format that began in Japan. Each speaker presents 20 images for 20 seconds each — a rapid-fire, creative storytelling format that’s part “grown-up show and tell”, part passion project, and 100% engaging.

Meet the storytellers:

· Cody Horgan – Head Shipwright and Manager at the Wooden Boat Centre, Cody takes us inside the workshop to explore timber scarcity, sustainable builds, and the Centre’s role in preserving traditional boatbuilding skills.

· Valerie Nichols – A retired adventure therapist and festival dockmaster, Val shares how sailing her beloved cutter Aziza became a journey of personal renewal and fear-conquering freedom.

· Lewis Rodway – A Hobart local who painted his way through grief by capturing the ferries of his youth, Lewis brings history to life through nostalgic and deeply personal artworks.

· Andrew Wilson – Award-winning photographer and author of Old Sea Dogs of Tasmania, Andy debuts his digital “Custodian” series — evocative, layered portraits that honour wooden boat culture, the Tasmanian wilderness, and creative legacy.

· Sean Guastavino – From touring the world with giant protest puppets to training as a shipwright in Franklin, Sean’s story is a poetic ode to craft, community, and the threads that tie performance to boatbuilding.

· James Rakich – Captain of the STS Leeuwin II, James gives a glimpse into the transformative world of sail training, where young people gain confidence, connection, and leadership through life aboard a tall ship.

· Joshua Andree – A painter drawn to timber, tides, and Tasmania’s maritime past, Joshua reflects on the kinship between oil painting and boatbuilding — and how art, like boats, frames the world around us.

· Geoff Macqueen – Chair of Paddle TAS, Jeff is a small-boat adventurer who’s explored Tasmania’s wild waters by kayak and dinghy. He shares tales of epic journeys, hard lessons, and the joy of keeping it simple.

Whether you’re a sailor, maker, or dreamer, these stories remind us that boats are more than vessels. They’re time machines, memory keepers, and, above all, floating storytellers.

Thank You:
A warm thank you to Kelly Ejdenberg and the Pecha Kucha Hobart team for coordinating this wonderful event and generously providing permission to share it with you. If you're in Tasmania and would like to know more about upcoming Pecha Kucha Hobart nights, you can follow them on Facebook:   / pechakuchahobart