The Daily Hub

Jodie Niss, MFA ’08, discusses her goals as an artist, her daily practice, and what a day in her studio looks like with Collect Bean. “An ideal day in the studio is when I get to be there with no interruptions. I like to feel like I have all the time in the world to think and create. There is a beautiful freedom in that.” 

Maryam Turkey, BID ’17 and visiting instructor of industrial design, won the 2024 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Design. She was recognized “for her practice that seeks to bridge cultural and societal divides while simultaneously challenging the status quo; through organic sculptural forms and surfaces she deconstructs gender norms, revealing a powerful humanity.

Leslie Diuguid, visiting assistant professor of Fine Arts, is profiled in Curbed. The article explores how she turned an old dry cleaning store into “the first Black female-owned fine-art printing business in New York City.”

Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, MFA Communications Design ’15, discusses her latest project, Weaving Our Stories, in a video profile with Thai PBS. “My favorite thing about this piece is how so many techniques from across the United States and Thailand come together to weave this beautiful monument, when our ideas, when people brush up against each other and really create together,” she said. “That’s when possibilities unfold and that’s when things are born.”

Sylvia Plachy, BFA ’65, has a retrospective of photography that captures New York over the decades on display in the Brooklyn Central Library through April 14. It happened in New York showcases Plachy’s “ability to uncover vulnerability and the psychogeography of her surroundings [and] demonstrates the indispensable role of the photographer.”

Na’ye Perez, MFA Fine Arts (Painting/Drawing) ’20, is featured in Artsy’s 29 Emerging Black Artists to Discover This Black History Month, Part 1. “Na’ye Perez uses different techniques—including printmaking, painting, and drawing—to talk about his community.”

Kiernan Francis, BFA Film ’23, will have his film Trial Period featured on the Criterion Channel’s February lineup. Francis wrote and directed the film, which was submitted as his thesis project in Pratt’s Film/Video senior showcase for 2023.  

Megan Thee Stallion wears pieces by two Pratt alumni in the video for her new song “Hiss.” Laurel Dewitt, BFA Fashion Design ’06, created a custom crystal neckpiece for the artist, while Sarah Sokol, BFA Interior Design ’11, provided a custom hat.

Gerald Levy, adjunct assistant professor of social science and cultural studies, discussed the growing strength of the labor movement in the United States with CFO Dive. “The ‘mood’ of the workers has changed,” Levy said. “They see the current time as a historic ‘moment’ to strike while the iron is hot and make transformational changes.”

Salman Toor, MFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’09, shares his work, preoccupations, and influences in the PBS arts and culture series, CANVAS. “About three or four years ago, I decided to make semi-autobiographical paintings that were about being more out as a gay man,” he said.