The Pratt Center for Community Development released its new report “Still Room for Improvement” examining the land use impacts of hotel development in New York City, including how the COVID-19 pandemic may shape future development. The report is available to read online.
The Daily Hub
A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
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Brooklyn Magazine featured the work of Allen Frame, adjunct professor-CCE of photography, whose new book FEVER includes his color photographs from the early 1980s just before the dawn of AIDS. Frame told the publication that the images capture “the irony of that year … the mood and palette of the pictures versus the impending pandemic.”
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Visit the Pratt.edu news page for a roundup of seven murals from the Pratt community to visit this summer, including “Pop-Up Pool Party” by Melissa Dadourian, BFA ’91, that covers the Manhattan Park pool on Roosevelt Island with vibrant shapes.
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Through August 8, Harvestworks on Governors Island is exhibiting “Scintillator,” an installation by Visiting Assistant Professor Joseph Morris with the help of Interim Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences Helio Takai. The work uses computer-controlled electromagnets to turn inverted wine glasses into sonic resonators, similar to running a finger along the rim of a glass, creating an immersive experience of sound and technology.
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“Neighbors/Voisin.e.s” by Ken Aptekar, MFA ’75, is on view through August 1 in the Chapelle St-Aubin in Autun, France, as part of the Biennale Internationale Autun. The centerpiece of the installation is a series of six diptychs that reflect on religious tolerance, otherness, immigration, and community. His ongoing work on these issues through art was previously highlighted on Pratt.edu.
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At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop, which was translated by Anna Moschovakis, adjunct associate professor-CCE in the Writing Department, was included on Former President Barack Obama’s summer reading list. The book was recently awarded the 2021 International Booker Prize.
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Instructors in Pratt’s Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12 are being highlighted on @PrattYouth, including alumnus Noel Caban who has been teaching in the Saturday Art School program since 2017: “Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed watching students make intuitive creative connections and derive a sense of satisfaction from their artwork. I like to think that those moments of creativity will continue to be a tool and resource in their emotional and intellectual development as they grow.”
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Ursula Michelle, MS Packaging Design ’22, won the Grand Prize in the sixth annual Role Models Contest hosted by Parsons Healthy Materials Lab. The competition challenges students to combine design innovation with advocacy for healthier futures. Michelle’s “Rethinking Contact Lens Packaging” project reimagines disposable blister packs through smart packaging design that emphasizes reuse and compostable materials. Graduate industrial design students Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres were also recognized with an Honorable Mention for “(Stool)Stool” made with biochar.
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Niama Safia Sandy, visiting assistant professor of fine arts, created posters for a new For Freedoms series of art installations in sites around New York state most impacted by CCTV cameras: “The text on the posters is an effort to connect issues at hand with algorithms at the center of predictive policing, and attempts to apprehend and extract Black people, their bodies and the wondrous gifts of creativity and ingenuity they have offered the world.”
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A project by Pratt architecture student Kevin (Tianyi) Wang was shortlisted in the Skyhive 2021 Skyscraper Challenge, an international competition seeking innovative high-rise concepts. Wang’s “Tree Habitat” was inspired by the mangrove trees local to Shenzhen for a mixed-use residential tower that would act as a giant air purifier for the Chinese city.
More Pratt Institute News
Workplace Ready: Project SEARCH Interns Graduate
New York City high school students received career training through Project SEARCH, a national program focused on workforce-readiness for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Pratt Names Courtney Knapp New Chair of the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
From Pratt Institute News
An award-winning scholar and professor in the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment’s Urban and Community Planning program, Knapp will assume the role on July 1, 2025, succeeding Eve Baron, who is stepping down to join the full-time faculty.
Alumni Harvey Fierstein and Paul Tazewell Shine at the Tony Awards
From Pratt Institute News
Esteemed writer and actor Harvey Fierstein was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the theater; Oscar-winning designer Paul Tazewell won for Best Costume Design in a Musical.