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.
Pratt Names Courtney Knapp New Chair of the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
An award-winning scholar and professor in the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment’s Urban and Community Planning program, Knapp will assume the role on July 1, 2025, succeeding Eve Baron, who is stepping down to join the full-time faculty.
Alumni Harvey Fierstein and Paul Tazewell Shine at the Tony Awards
From Pratt Institute News
Esteemed writer and actor Harvey Fierstein was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the theater; Oscar-winning designer Paul Tazewell won for Best Costume Design in a Musical.
Designer, Educator, and Writer Andrew Holder Named Chair of Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design
From Pratt Institute News
Holder will assume the role of chair on July 1, 2025.
Graduate Architecture Student Quinn Gregory Named 2025 Fulbright Finalist
From Pratt Institute News
Gregory will spend nine months in Europe to study how bicycle theft undermines collective efforts to increase urban cycling.
Runway Ready: Pratt Fashion Seniors Shine at Powerhouse Arts
From Pratt Institute News
The 2025 Pratt Shows: Fashion runway presentation featured nearly 160 looks from collections by 30 graduating seniors; Haeone Son, BFA Fashion Design ’25, received the 2025 Christopher Hunte “On Point” Award.
Hats Off to Pratt’s Class of 2025!
From Pratt Institute News
Graduates accepted their diplomas during an exuberant Commencement at the iconic Radio City Music Hall. Honorary degrees were bestowed upon Claudia Rankine, Annabelle Selldorf, and Stefan Sagmeister.
Research Open House 2025 Awards Recognize Community Engagement, Sustainability, and Design Projects
From Pratt Institute News
Research Open House presented scholarship and partnerships to the public, demonstrating Pratt’s engagement with industry, community, and university partners, and its deep commitment to equitable forms of discovery and growth.
The Latest
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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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Pratt’s MFA Exhibition Mirrors These Disjointive Times
Pratt’s 2025 MFA Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Inside/Out, was featured in Hyperallergic for its powerful exploration of space, identity, and the complexities of the current moment.
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Dona Ann McAdams’ Photography; Latest Tech News; Bab L’Bluz Performs Live; MUNA’s Katie Gavin
Photographer Dona Ann McAdams was recently interviewed on WNYC’s All of It with Alison Stewart, discussing her decades-spanning work capturing marginalized communities. The segment coincides with her solo exhibition black | box at Pratt Manhattan Gallery.
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Kate Evans, MFA Fine Arts (Printmaking) ’25, received the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Robert Blackburn Printmaking Award. “Her work explores the self-importance that saturates society—whether through social media, political corruption, or daily chaos. By highlighting these themes, she pokes fun at our perceptions of ourselves, revealing the gaps between reality and self-image.”
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Rosetta S. Elkin, academic director of Landscape Architecture, received Pratt Institute’s Research Recognition Award for her “varied contributions to the field of landscape architecture across architectural practice, pedagogy, and scholarship. Her research often takes her into the ground, as plant life develops underfoot. In writing and scholarship, she aims to experiment with the ways in which we compose our worlds, blurring the traditional boundaries in the research process.”
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Alumnus Paul Tazewell and Pratt Trustee and alumnus Derrick Adams were among those to be honored at the 2025 Native Son Awards, which celebrates “mavericks and Black gay excellence.” Tazewell told The Hollywood Reporter, “This organization is incredibly close to my heart, and to be acknowledged by a community that celebrates the brilliance and resilience of Black queer and gay men is truly humbling. Thank you for seeing me.” Derrick Adams is also one of four artists featured in The New York Times Style Magazine’s 2025 Art Issue.
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Pratt Fine Arts Ox-Bow summer 2025 awardees include Giovanna Lisa, BFA Fine Arts (Drawing) ’26, Isaiah Robinson, BFA Fine Arts (Sculpture) ’26, Jack Catlett, MFA Fine Arts (Sculpture) ’26, and Associate Professor of Fine Arts Laurel Sparks, who will be teaching Material Abstraction in Painting.
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Pratt women’s tennis excelled in the 2024–2025 academic year with an impressive combined GPA of 3.566. Special recognition goes to Kayla Abraham, BFA Critical and Visual Studies ’28, and Julia Ognibene, BFA 2D Animation ’25, who both achieved a 4.0 GPA this semester.
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Professor of History of Art and Design Eva Díaz’s new book After Spaceship Earth was included in Art Review.
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Jimmy & The Demons, a new feature-length documentary about Pratt alumnus and former Pratt faculty James Grashow, BFA ’63; MFA ’65, is premiering at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, with a final screening on Sunday, June 15. The film follows Grashow, who taught art at Pratt from 1969 to 1982, on a multiyear journey to complete a large and detailed wood sculpture titled The Cathedral. The film was recently reviewed in The New York Times.
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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.