A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Pietro Quintino Sella, MID ’21, was selected as one of the best global design graduates by Antenna, which is part of the annual Dutch Design Week that was held this October. He presented his thesis project the Subline which explores the possibility of underground rail-bicycles that could be installed on disused subway lines in Manhattan.
Merve Kayan and Sasha Sumner, both adjunct assistant professors of Film/Video, received 2025 New York State Council on the Arts grants for work on films. Kayan was awarded the grant for her film Baby Gates, and Sumner received it for her film Ripple.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Yasmeen Abdallah, MFA Fine Arts ’15, reviewed “I Find Rest” by V Walton and “Sarsabzi” by Misha Japanwala at Hannah Traore Gallery in Hot Coffee Conversations.
Dakota Billops-Breaux, MS Urban Placemaking and Management ’26; Jen Hung, MS Sustainable Environmental Systems and an Advanced Certificate in Historic Preservation ’26; and Wayne Mok, MS Urban and Community Planning ’26, are among the 2025-2026 Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) Community Development Graduate Fellowship cohort.
Sofi Thanhauser, adjunct associate professor – CCE of Writing, explores the history of the “war on cancer” in an essay for the Virginia Quarterly Review. “Buried beneath this evergreen drama of illness and cure, the promise of miracle biotech breakthroughs and heroic survivorship, is the story of how American business interests helped to steer politicians away from stopping the cancer epidemic at the source; how they helped to generate a mania for curing the disease and obstructed the analytic and moral clarity required to prevent it. Actually preventing cancer—far preferable to curing it, if less interesting—would mean asking why our cancer rates are so high in the first place.”
Pratt’s Film/Video Department was voted in as a full and official member of The International Association of Cinema, Audiovisual and Media Schools (CILECT). CILECT is a global organization made up of 186 film and media schools from 64 countries. The organization is dedicated to developing and promoting the highest standards of film and media education. Membership opens up a wealth of new possibilities for cultural exchange and collaboration with colleagues from around the world.
Alumnus D’angelo Thompson shared his favorite books, as well as his favorite bookshop, with International Boy. Thompson also recently discussed his career pivots with Prattfolio.
Michaela Chavelis Arroyo, BFA Fashion Design ’18, was featured in Jamaica Plain News for a feature that explores her career trajectory. “A lot of people see it [crochet] as such an old craft,” Arroyo said. “I wanted to bring that into the modern world in a different way.”
The Pratt Center for Community Development shared a success story from their EnergyFit program, which equips small 1-4 family homes in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn—typically underserved by climate policy efforts—with energy-efficient upgrades such as insulation, air sealing and weather stripping, and high-efficiency appliances for free.
Sooleen Kim, BFA Communications Design ’24, has received the Red Dot Junior Award 2025: Brand & Communication Design for her senior thesis project, “Wallog,” a social media platform that enriches in-person interactions for a genuine friendship. Red Dot is one of the world’s most prestigious design awards.
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
