From the Pratt Transit Art Tour to murals painted across the country, the work of Pratt alumni is all around us! Check out some recent public artworks, including the largest mural in Westchester County, a black-and-white ode to place, and more, below.
Westchester County’s Largest Mural
In New Rochelle, you can’t miss “4rm Da Source (And Still I Rise),” a new mural by Na’ye Perez, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’20, which makes history as the largest mural in all of Westchester County. Commissioned by BRP Companies and hand-painted by Colossal Media, the colorful mural celebrates and honors the longstanding Black community in New Rochelle. Based on his own mixed media works, Perez collaged multiple images together, using them as his blueprint for the painted mural, which spans 20 stories of 500 Main Street. “The works selected to create the mural are mixed-media works that use traditional materials such as charcoal, chalk, conte, and acrylic paints alongside found materials such as brown papers, discarded plastics, Lino block prints, and gel transfers of communities within New Rochelle,” said Perez. “The narratives shown are born out of love for my community and family, exploring day-to-day moments of life, emphasizing Black and Brown presence as intimacy, care, love, and resilience.”
“It’s an honor to be a part of this history and moment in time and build upon legacies of those who came before me,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.
Perez also acknowledged the role Pratt played in his artistic growth in a recent email. “My practice began its journey at Pratt, even though COVID made things difficult in [the] second half, I still was grateful for some cohorts and professors who helped me get to where I am today.”
Work by Perez was also recently displayed in a digital exhibition in Times Square.
A Mural Made to Remember
Robyn Henry, BFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’21, pays tribute to the history of Bangor, Maine, with her first-ever mural: a bold grayscale mural of historic Downtown Bangor. The mural, located in a building in One Merchant’s Plaza, is based on a photo of the building’s 1970 construction, according to WABI 5. “Art is people. It reflects us and how we think, not just the present, but the past,” Henry told the news channel. “When I was working on this, I had a lot of people coming in and out of the building, and they would stop, and they’d tell me a story [and] be like, Oh, I got my first trumpet at Viner’s Music Company. So, it helps people connect with each other. And connection is something that’s so important and [that] we need more than ever.”
“In the years since graduating from Pratt Institute, I pushed myself to improve and continuously create,” said Henry. “This mural was a wonderful, new, and challenging experience that made me realize how far I can make it outside my comfort zone. The best thing any artist can do is keep making and engaging with the world around themselves.”
Odes to New York City
Caryn Cast, AOS ’13, has recently completed two murals in New York City—one in Williamsburg and another in Astoria.
The “Bodega Kitty Mural” in Williamsburg depicts the contents of a bodega, complete with twizzlers, bananas, and a stony-faced cat. Located outside a shop called Lockwood Williamsburg, the 22’x16’ mural was commissioned to highlight the store and infuse the area with bright colors and familiar brands. Over the course of 26 days, Cast used acrylics and house paint to depict the scene.
In Astoria, Cast painted a street scene at 30th Avenue and 37th Street. The mural documents the specificities of the neighborhood, combined with city staples, such as taxi cabs, bikes, pizza shops, with glimpses into the windows of apartments. Above the scene, Cast wrote “I love Manhattan………But all my friends live in Astoria.”
The Party Lives On
Finn Evans, AOS Graphic Design ’24; AOS Illustration ’25, was commissioned to add some liveliness to the walls of Weber Street Liquor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Evans’s bright red skeletons live on after dark, clinking drinks and socializing with neighbors.
Evans, who completed associate degree programs in both graphic design and illustration, brings his sense of imagination to his murals. “The best art advice I ever received was ‘take the inspiration of your first idea and never the execution,’” said Evans. “Trust your gut but train your eye!”
His most recent mural-in-progress is “literally and figuratively the biggest project I’ve ever worked on.” The piece is located at JLEAGUES, a Parkour gym in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Evans was brought in to memorialize a community member who passed away. “I love wall art, and I’m lucky to have this piece for so many kids and parkour people to see,” said Evans.
Spot a mural by a Pratt alumnus? Share it with us at editorial@pratt.edu.