A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Jimmy & The Demons, a new feature-length documentary about Pratt alumnus and former Pratt faculty James Grashow, BFA ’63; MFA ’65, is premiering at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, with a final screening on Sunday, June 15. The film follows Grashow, who taught art at Pratt from 1969 to 1982, on a multiyear journey to complete a large and detailed wood sculpture titled The Cathedral. The film was recently reviewed in The New York Times.
Myrsini Aristidou, BFA Film ’13, won an audience award at Sundance Film Festival 2026 for her feature, Hold Onto Me.
Edel Rodriguez, BFA Painting ’94, and Visionary Awardee 2019, created a recent cover illustration for TIME Magazine.
An exhibition showcasing work by graduate planning and undergraduate architecture students imagining alternative visions for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal was featured in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
TheyDream, a new film by William David Caballero, BFA Digital Arts ’06, received the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression from the Sundance Film Festival. The film was also reviewed by the International Cinephile Society. “Gentle but life-affirming, TheyDream is an inventive, delicate tribute to family and creativity, understanding that art is not an answer to grief, but rather the vessel through which those harrowing emotions can finally be spoken.”
The Pratt Center for Community Development’s Made in NYC team reflected on their 2025 achievements, noting, for example, that more than 115 companies signed up for member benefits and more than 630 members joined their learning labs over the course of the year.
Siha Park, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’25, is featured in Canvas Rebel in an interview that explores her journey as an artist. “The range of artworks and experiences available here makes New York an invaluable resource for any artist. Being able to gain insight from so many artistic practices and hear so many different stories—that, to me, is New York’s greatest strength.
The American Library Association announced that Kadir Nelson, BFA Communications Design ’96, received the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement; alumnus Jashar Awan received a Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book for children for his illustrated book Every Monday Mabel; and Fine Arts alumnus Peter Kuper received an Alex Award for best adult book that appeals to teen audiences for his illustrated book Insectopolis: A Natural History.
Yessenia Sanchez, BFA Film ’21, was selected to join the cohort of 2026 Film Independent Project Involve Fellows.
A new mobile library case on display in Pratt Libraries was designed by Assistant Professor of Industrial Design Swati Piparsania and Miles Hubbard-Zarick and Isabelle Liu, both BID ’26.
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
