A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Professor of Fashion Design and Black Dress exhibition co-curator Adrienne Jones spoke to Essence about this year’s Met Gala, its theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and the history of Black fashion design and styling. “There’s more than three colors in the crayon box,” she said. “Where was the vibrancy? I think of African tailors, of Caribbean elegance—rich color, texture, vibrance. That’s what I wanted more of.”
Nidhi Jairam, BID ’28, was awarded second place in the 2025 IESNYC Student Lighting Competition. Honorable mentions were awarded to Estefania Martinez-Aleman (Fefi), MID ’26, George Batska, BID ’27, and Zara Braun, BID ’27.
President Frances Bronet is featured on the 2025 Power Players in Arts & Culture list by PoliticsNY and amNewYork. She reflects on the civic and economic role of the arts in New York City and the ongoing Pratt Shows 2025. “It’s my favorite time of year – Pratt Shows season. These public exhibitions showcase the culminating work of our graduating students across disciplines. Vibrant, urgent, and thoughtful, the shows celebrate years of creative inquiry, imagining new futures, and offer a glimpse into what matters most to the next generation of artists, designers, architects, and creative thinkers.”
Hyperallergic reviewed Part II of Pratt’s Fine Arts MFA thesis exhibition Inside/Out. “The spatial fissures in the work of Pratt’s 2025 MFA graduate students resonate in what feels like an increasingly disjointive time,” writes Daniel Larkin. “By challenging viewers’ perception of space to gesture towards these indeterminate horizons, these artists open up a new view to think through these perilous times.”
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.
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
