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Joan Semmel, BFA Art Teacher Education ’63; MFA ’72, was featured in AnOther Magazine, Wallpaper, and Ocula on the occasion of her latest exhibition in Brussels. The 91-year-old figurative painter is lauded for “sex-positive paintings,” which “celebrat[e] natural urges which to this day are laden with shame and stigma,” writes Emily Steer in AnOther.

For Frieze, Theodora Skipitares, visiting professor of art and design education, reflects on puppetry, past projects, and her latest work, The Four Lives, which premiered in April at La MaMa. 

Pratt’s BFA in Communications Design (emphasis in Graphic Design) was ranked #12 in TechGuide’s list of “The Best Bachelor’s in Graphic Design Degree Programs for 2024,” which recognizes an “unwavering commitment to academic excellence.” TechGuide considers factors such as tuition, student-to-faculty ratio, admission and graduation rates, and alumni success in its ranking process.

Pratt is named among the prettiest campuses in America by Architectural Digest: “Known for its architecture, interior design, and industrial design degrees, it’s no wonder the campus is stunning.”

Fashion design alumni Paul Tazewell and Emilio Sosa were both nominated for Tony Awards. Sosa received a nomination for Best Costume Design of a Play for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, while Tazewell’s nomination was for Best Costume Design for a Musical for Suffs.

Robert Vargas, alumnus of fine arts, will receive an honorary doctorate degree from ArtCenter College of Design and deliver the commencement address at the College’s spring graduation ceremony. “As an artist growing up in Los Angeles, I accept this honorary doctorate with both great pride and humility.“ said Vargas.

Chloe Scout Nix and Lena Smart, both MFA Photography ’24, were featured in Hyperallergic for their thesis exhibitions currently on view at the photography gallery in Pratt’s ARC Building. “It’s worth a trip to explore body parts like ears, arms, and hands in an unconventional way, but more importantly this exhibition challenges the distorted body images that prevail in mainstream media,” writes Daniel Larkin. The artists
“champion the role photography can play in intervening and healing.”

Assistant Professor of Film/Video Eliza Hittman’s fourth feature film, Motherlove, was named a recipient of the Water Tower Feature Film Grant from Rooftop Films’ 2024 Filmmaker Fund.

Matt Huckenpoehler, MArch ’24, is included in the 2024 METROPOLIS Future100, which highlights top graduating architecture and interior design students in the US and Canada. “Matt is adept and versatile with techniques and technologies of representation and fabrication and has a confident yet open-minded and collaborative approach to working that is productive, inspiring, and inclusive to others in his class.”