Undergraduate Communications Design faculty members Tim O’Brien and Rudy Gutierrez, BFA Communications Design ’79, and alumnus Kadir Nelson, BFA Communications Design ’96, have been inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. Each year, the Society adds three contemporary illustrators to the Hall of Fame, chosen for “their distinguished achievement in the art of illustration.” This year, all three honorees are part of the Pratt community. The Society will be honoring this year’s inductees at The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 9, 2025.
The Daily Hub
A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
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Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Information Ken Soehner, Arthur K. Watson Chief Librarian at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was quoted in the recent announcement about the renovation of the museum’s Nolen Study Room. “The renovation and design project is an exceptional opportunity for the library. The plans evoke optimism for the future and reflect our commitment to providing a more welcoming, comfortable, and inspiring environment for library researchers and staff.”
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Unveiling by Alanna Fields, MFA Photography ’19, was shortlisted for the First PhotoBook prize at the 2025 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards, which celebrate this year’s achievements by publishers and artists.
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Mackie Mallison, BFA Film ’23, was chosen for the inaugural 2025 Sundance Institute Filmmakers Fund, which awards grants to emerging artists working on feature-length films. Mallison’s film, Everything Must Go, is about “a Japanese-American family united by anxiety disorders and vivid daydreams struggles to let go of their dying matriarch.”
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Librarian Adeeba Rana, MSLIS ’13, will discuss the trend of censorship with author and activist George Takei at the Brooklyn Public Library’s event Unscripted: A Night Against Censorship at Central Library on October 6.
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Dean of the School of Architecture Quilian Riano reflected on the recent past and the year ahead for The Architect’s Newspaper. “The Pratt Institute School of Architecture celebrated its 70th anniversary this past academic year with events and two exhibitions: one about recent student work and the other about our history. This coming year, we are building on the excitement around this work to host programs that look at the role of our fields in shaping the public sphere and to support faculty and students as they continue to tackle the challenges communities are facing, such as dealing with the climate and housing crises.”
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Three Pratt students were chosen as Atlantic East athletes of the week: Pallavi Verghese, BArch ’28, for Women’s Tennis; Coralie Norenberg, MFA Communications Design ’27, for Women’s Cross Country; and Liam Reilly, BFA Film ’27, for Men’s Cross Country.
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“Last Year…”, an animated short by Emmett Goodman, adjunct instructor of Digital Arts and Animation, will be included in the 2025 Woodstock Film Fest, an Oscar-qualifying competition showcasing 112 films, including 28 animated shorts. “An animator creates one second of animation every day for a whole year, resulting in a visual stream-of-consciousness that is funny, colorful and whimsical.”
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Visiting Assistant Professor of History of Art and Design Kate Sekules was featured in the Costume Society of America’s Dialogues on Dress series. “I stand behind the term ‘visible mending’ because it conveys the general idea, but it can also sound a bit too trendy. Which is a problem, because trends end,” said Sekules. “An alternative way to frame it is perhaps ‘codesign.’ There are infinite ways to fix and alter something and add to it, to make it a collaborative process between you and the item. […] We need to innovate in style and design, and this is a design form. Fashion is fairly moribund and profit-driven, but mending can step in and disrupt that.”
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Pratt pair Claire McKinney and Sophie Andes Gascon, both BFA Fashion Design ’15, were included in The New York Times Style Magazine’s article on new and emerging designers on the rise. “The pair, who met while studying at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, also design clothing. This season, after taking a break from it, they returned to a runway format and were included on the CFDA’s official New York calendar for the first time.” They also received coverage in i-D.
More Pratt Institute News
Building ‘Cradle-Through-Career’ Pathways in Newark
A new public high school in Newark, New Jersey, is opening pathways to careers in the building industry with academic guidance from Pratt faculty.
Fashioning New Pathways for Incarcerated Women
From Pratt Institute News
The innovative program launched by Pratt Institute and the New Jersey Department of Corrections expands access to creative disciplines and workforce development.
Building More Than Just Structures
From Pratt Institute News
Elijah Rayford, BPS Construction Management ’25, turned his passion for problem-solving into a full-time role in New York’s construction industry.