A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
During this past year of isolation and social distancing, Eliane Yeung reflected on a distinct feature of NYC—the bodega cat—which inspired the School of Continuing and Professional Studies student to create the video animation “Bodega Cats v. House Cats.” Watch it on the @PrattInstitute Instagram.
Open House New York is returning to Pratt again on Sunday, October 19. As in years past, the History of Art and Design Department will lead two walking tours of the Pratt campus and surrounding neighborhood and provide booklets, etc. for a self-guided tour of the Sculpture Park.
Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Information Ken Soehner, Arthur K. Watson Chief Librarian at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was quoted in the recent announcement about the renovation of the museum’s Nolen Study Room. “The renovation and design project is an exceptional opportunity for the library. The plans evoke optimism for the future and reflect our commitment to providing a more welcoming, comfortable, and inspiring environment for library researchers and staff.”
Unveiling by Alanna Fields, MFA Photography ’19, was shortlisted for the First PhotoBook prize at the 2025 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards, which celebrate this year’s achievements by publishers and artists.
Mackie Mallison, BFA Film ’23, was chosen for the inaugural 2025 Sundance Institute Filmmakers Fund, which awards grants to emerging artists working on feature-length films. Mallison’s film, Everything Must Go, is about “a Japanese-American family united by anxiety disorders and vivid daydreams struggles to let go of their dying matriarch.”
Librarian Adeeba Rana, MSLIS ’13, will discuss the trend of censorship with author and activist George Takei at the Brooklyn Public Library’s event Unscripted: A Night Against Censorship at Central Library on October 6.
Dean of the School of Architecture Quilian Riano reflected on the recent past and the year ahead for The Architect’s Newspaper. “The Pratt Institute School of Architecture celebrated its 70th anniversary this past academic year with events and two exhibitions: one about recent student work and the other about our history. This coming year, we are building on the excitement around this work to host programs that look at the role of our fields in shaping the public sphere and to support faculty and students as they continue to tackle the challenges communities are facing, such as dealing with the climate and housing crises.”
Three Pratt students were chosen as Atlantic East athletes of the week: Pallavi Verghese, BArch ’28, for Women’s Tennis; Coralie Norenberg, MFA Communications Design ’27, for Women’s Cross Country; and Liam Reilly, BFA Film ’27, for Men’s Cross Country.
“Last Year…”, an animated short by Emmett Goodman, adjunct instructor of Digital Arts and Animation, will be included in the 2025 Woodstock Film Fest, an Oscar-qualifying competition showcasing 112 films, including 28 animated shorts. “An animator creates one second of animation every day for a whole year, resulting in a visual stream-of-consciousness that is funny, colorful and whimsical.”
Visiting Assistant Professor of History of Art and Design Kate Sekules was featured in the Costume Society of America’s Dialogues on Dress series. “I stand behind the term ‘visible mending’ because it conveys the general idea, but it can also sound a bit too trendy. Which is a problem, because trends end,” said Sekules. “An alternative way to frame it is perhaps ‘codesign.’ There are infinite ways to fix and alter something and add to it, to make it a collaborative process between you and the item. […] We need to innovate in style and design, and this is a design form. Fashion is fairly moribund and profit-driven, but mending can step in and disrupt that.”
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
