A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Master of Science in Sustainable Environmental Systems students have been touring sites, such as Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, in preparation for a deep dive into how green infrastructure and environmental justice can advance health and joy for all residents.
Adeeba Rana, MSLIS ’13, was interviewed by New York’s PIX11 about the reopening of the The Bedford Branch Library, where she is the branch manager. “Bed-Stuy is full of artists and thinkers and makers, and really this community flourishes when there’s a library space to help those things happen.”
Adjunct Associate Professor of Fine Art Ross Knight was interviewed in Office Magazine about his sculptures, which are described as “Playful, irreverent, and touchingly close to everyday life.”
Morgan Gruer, BFA Communications Design ’16, is profiled by Tap Into in a piece that explores her artistic background, career trajectory, and short film Fire at Will, which will be featured at the Nantucket Film Festival. “I wanted to explore a more applied form of visual storytelling. I attended Pratt Institute, which gave me the tools to bridge fine art and design thinking in a really dynamic way.”
Kate Sekules, visiting assistant professor of history of art and design, is featured in an article about visibly mending clothes. “When you’ve invested time and energy and thought and craft into your clothing, you value it so much more.”
Adjunct Professor – CCE of Fine Arts Jean Shin was presented with the 2025 Michael Richards Award for Visual Art at LMCC’s 2025 Downtown Dinner. “I am so profoundly honored to receive this award bearing Michael Richards’ name—an artist whose absence still echoes with us today,” Shin wrote on Instagram. “I accept it with gratitude and determination, knowing that true honor lies not in receiving but in continuing the essential work that Michael Richards began.”
Asian Feminist Architectural Possibilities, a collaboration between Visiting Assistant Professor of GA/LA/UD, Ruo Jia and e-flux Architecture, and supported by Pratt Institute, is featured in e-flux.
Professor of Fashion Design Adrienne Jones was interviewed about the fashion of funk in We Want the Funk!, a documentary film streaming now on PBS Independent Lens.
Salman Toor, MFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’09, is profiled in an immersive, multimedia feature in The New York Times that explores his studio space, his art practice, and his background and influences. “When he graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 2009, Toor was painting as if he was an apprentice of the Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini. He had started making classical portraits of friends that included a strange scribble of paint above their heads. That is when Catherine Redmond, his painting professor at Pratt, knew something was about to change. His brushstrokes were becoming less about the Renaissance and more about him.”
Young Jun Kim, BFA Fine Arts (Jewelry) ’24, was featured in The Good Men Project about his jewelry practice. “In a world where jewelry often begins and ends with surface beauty, Young Jun Kim dares to dig deeper, transforming metal into memory, ornament into narrative,” writes Noen Noah. “As both a designer and metalsmith, Young Jun Kim is redefining what it means to adorn the body, crafting pieces that not only captivate the eye but also question the nature of beauty, imperfection, and time itself.”
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
