Visiting Assistant Professor of Film/Video Chris Radcliff’s film We Were the Scenery has been shortlisted at the 98th Academy Awards® for Best Documentary Short Film. “When we started this project, we had no way of knowing where it would take us. We only hoped that in the year 2025, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, we’d be able to find a way to share Cathy’s family’s remarkable, yet until now, untold story with an audience. We never could have imagined how far it would go, or how deeply their story would resonate with people around the world.”
The Daily Hub
A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
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A salon-style artist group for critique, encouragement, and collaboration called Gossip, partly formed and maintained by Pratt faculty, alumni, and students, was profiled in artnet. “In the approximately 17 years since the group first coalesced, participation has experienced flux resulting from people moving away, being busy with projects, family, and life in general, and new people being introduced. But the gravitational core of having a space by and for artists has remained the same.”
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Former Pratt Writer in Residence aracelis girmay was interviewed for The Creative Independent. “I’m interested in making work that is mysterious to me. There’s a line or an image that won’t let me go or that I can’t let go of that I write into asking a series of questions or following its musics. And because everything is everything, I never know where I’ll end up.”
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Rahil Mandalia, BFA Interior Design ’26, was named one of three recipients of IIDA NY’s 5th annual Hazel Siegel Scholarship. The scholarship is named in honor of acclaimed textile designer and longtime Pratt faculty member Hazel Siegel. The winners were selected based on their “community engagement, academic standing, design aspirations, perspectives on diversity, and post-graduation goals.”
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Chair of History of Art and Design Sarah Lichtman will be speaking on the panel on “Structures of Success: Women Leading in Architecture and Design” at The Winter Show NYC at the Park Avenue Armory on January 31.
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Adjunct Assistant Professor of Film/Video Maya Edelman received a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, recognizing her work for Australia’s CSIRO National DNA Library.
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City Limits profiled a Taconic Fellowship project in which Pratt students collaborated with Mothers On the Move to explore hemp’s potential as a sustainable retrofit material for public housing in the Bronx. “For [Bhavini] Kapur, [MS City and Regional Planning ’24], the Pratt studio is a perfect place for early career architects, like the students, to normalize using these natural materials in their work while staying connected to the local community.”
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Xenobia Bailey, BFA Industrial Design ’77, and former faculty member Mendi Obadike (with partner Keith), were awarded a grant from the United States Artists (USA), a Chicago-based nonprofit. “The organization considers artists with singular artistic visions who have made an impact in their respective disciplines,” explains Hyperallergic.
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Fine Arts Civic Engagement Fellow Alex Strada was selected for the 2026 Pioneer Works Residency.
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Alanna Jaworski, BArch ’08, was named associate principal at Union Studio Architecture & Community Design. “Alanna Jaworski has been at the forefront of some of our most meaningful affordable and supportive housing work, from our first affordable passive house project to the innovative community at Child Farm on Martha’s Vineyard.”
More Pratt Institute News
Wearable Memories
Students transform personal memories into handmade, one-of-a-kind brooches in a junior jewelry studio.
Three Outstanding Graduates to be Honored at Pratt’s 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards
From Pratt Institute News
Pratt Institute alumni Nanette Carter, Vann Graves, and Lian Farhi will be honored for their creative and professional accomplishments.
Leading by Example
From Pratt Institute News
Spencer Giuliano, BArch ’26, thrives on the soccer field and in the studio, all while helping fellow student-athletes balance the demands of both worlds.