Gerald Luss (BID ’49), a Pratt alumus and celebrated midcentury-modern designer, passed away at 98. Best known for his groundbreaking interiors for the Time-Life Building, Luss helped shape postwar office design and left a lasting legacy in the field.
Art Outdoors: 5 Must-See Murals by Pratt Alumni
From Brooklyn and New Jersey to Colorado, check out a few recently created murals in New York City and beyond.
Finding Calm Through Design
From Pratt Institute News
Recent student projects tackle social anxiety and provide a path forward.
Making Your At-Home Setup Work for You
From Pratt Institute News
Recent student projects tackle the everyday challenges of working and studying from home.
Opening the Door to Creative Careers
From Pratt Institute News
Pratt students build a professional foundation with internships and fellowships across the city.
Souvenirs, Chairs, and Group Shows at NYCxDESIGN 2025
From Pratt Institute News
Pratt students, faculty, and alumni shared work and insights during the 2025 NYCxDESIGN festival.
NYC’s Racial Equity Reports: Another Look
From Pratt Institute News
In a recent City Limits op-ed, Associate Professor Eve Baron and Pratt Center Senior Planner Tara Duvivier highlight the underuse of New York’s Racial Equity Reports (RERs) and share strategies for making them more effective in shaping equitable land use decisions.
Workplace Ready: Project SEARCH Interns Graduate
From Pratt Institute News
New York City high school students received career training through Project SEARCH, a national program focused on workforce-readiness for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Latest
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Broiled by Heat Waves, Residents of the Concrete Jungle Suffer
Explores how climate change and urban design intensify heat in New York City—especially in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. The article highlights research by Pratt’s Dr. Yuliya Dzyuban, who studies “heat walks” to measure how infrastructure impacts thermal comfort.
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Robert Wilson, Provocative Playwright and Director, Is Dead at 83
Robert Wilson, the visionary director known for redefining experimental theater through works like Einstein on the Beach and collaborations with Philip Glass and Lady Gaga, has died at 83. He studied architecture and design at Pratt Institute, earning his BFA in 1965.
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NYC art schools see record-high application numbers as Gen Zers clamber to enroll
The article highlights a surge in applications to NYC art schools, with Pratt seeing record enrollment and waitlists for its fine arts programs as Gen Z pursues creative, hands-on careers in response to an AI-driven world.
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How a Sneaker Designer Spends His Day Transforming Nikes
Sneaker designer and alumnus Andy Martinez, who studied cartooning and film at Pratt, launched his bespoke brand &e after classmates admired his early designs—now worn by celebrities like LeBron James and SZA—combining cowboy boot shafts with Nike Air Force 1 soles in handcrafted, fashion-forward hybrids.
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Derrick Adams Wants His Art to Be Fun
Pratt alumnus Derrick Adams creates vibrant, imaginative artworks that celebrate the joy, normalcy, and everyday experiences of Black life.
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Emerging artist discovers his family’s Mexican roots through his work
Pratt student Angel Ortega explores his Mexican heritage and themes of cultural identity through his artwork and mentorship, inspired by his mother’s immigrant journey and supported by Pratt’s Young Scholars program.
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Associate Professor in the School of Information John Lauermann published an article “Mapping super-gentrification in large US cities, 1990–2020” in Urban Geography with his co-authors.
![A man with brown hear wearing a button up shirt smiles at the camera. He is standing in front of a blurred green background of trees.]()
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Jen Pawol, BFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’00, became the first woman to umpire a regular season game in Major League Baseball.
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Michelle Towse, BFA Photography ’91, was interviewed by Little Black Book about her career in film and what it takes to succeed. “Creative problem solving relies on the same principles regardless of implementation. The language is the same; sometimes, you just need to learn a few new vocabulary words.”
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Izzy Chavez, BFA Digital Arts (2-D Animation) ’24, had their work, Adam and Eve in the Kingdom of Animals, screened at the 2025 Annecy Festival.
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Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Information Bill Levay, MS Library and Information Science ’15, spoke at the Creative Operations Summit in New York, sharing how the New York Philharmonic Archives—and the digitized historical assets in our DAMS—play a vital role in marketing, storytelling, and audience engagement at the Philharmonic.
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Adjunct Associate Professor of Photography Matthew Leifheit was featured in The New York Times for his sound installation No Time at All, which played this summer at the New York City AIDS Memorial. The piece is composed of VHS tapes of gay men’s choruses made at the height of the AIDS crisis. “One of the most powerful ways to encounter an artwork is if you’re not expecting to have the experience of art,” said Leifheit of the installation in the West Village.
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Assistant Professor of Foundation Oasa DuVerney’s exhibition of works on paper, Into the Shining Dark at Welancora Gallery, was reviewed in the Brooklyn Rail. “Bring[ing] together nine of DuVerney’s new and recent works on paper which together present her attentiveness to Black womanhood, lineage, community, and survival.”
Prattfolio
Perspective Shifts
Spring 2025
Change Your Gaze
An MFA Communications Design class explores new ways of thinking and making, finding collaborators in the natural world.