A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Now on view in the windows of Pratt Manhattan Gallery are collections by three class of 2021 fashion students: Samara Huggins, Keyin Wang, and Miray Atakan. The exhibition also features the film “Community Quilt” which represents a virtual coming together and celebration of the work of Pratt fashion seniors. Stop by through September or follow @PrattExhibits for highlights.
A Patch story on public art to see this summer on Myrtle Avenue highlighted the “Watching” installation by Pratt student Jack Ketteler that covers the utility boxes in Myrtle Avenue Plaza with colorful eyes.
Elena Conte, senior fellow at the Pratt Center for Community Development, co-authored the City Limits op-ed “NYC’s Next Mayor Needs to Revamp City Planning for Equity”: “Rather than focusing exclusively on the number of jobs or housing units, our city’s next leaders must center inclusive growth by improving the quality of life and place for the hardest-hit communities first.”
Graduate industrial design students Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres are part of a seven-month incubator organized by Waste Management and the Slow Factory Foundation. The design challenge is focused on regenerative fashion that is recycled or remade and Böhning and Lempres are exploring a carbon-capturing leather alternative. The competition was covered by Forbes and will culminate in a February 2022 showcase of work by the six participating designers.
Master of Science in Sustainable Environmental Systems students have been touring sites, such as Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, in preparation for a deep dive into how green infrastructure and environmental justice can advance health and joy for all residents.
Karen Kubey, visiting associate professor of interior design, joined the WHEREING podcast hosted by Nina Freedman, visiting associate professor of undergraduate architecture, for a discussion on her career in housing and social justice and a vision for the future of housing in the United States.
The intersection of 7th Avenue and 12th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been renamed Pete Hamill Way in honor of the reporter, columnist, and Pratt alumnus who died last August. The new green-and-white street sign was unveiled with a ceremony on June 24.
Folio Scholarship Award winners are being celebrated on @prattfoundation, such as Kevin Li who received a prize for Outstanding Portfolio.
The Noguchi Museum has an online exhibition featuring work from the MFA Graduate Foundations Design Studio course. Each spring, Pratt students are asked to draw inspiration from Isamu Noguchi’s work with their projects this year investigating how design can foster a dialogue between the acts of making, supporting, and commodifying, concentrating on the Museum’s Akari Light Sculptures. Noguchi + Pratt is on view online through August 29.
Amanda Huynh, assistant professor of industrial design, contributed the article “Fostering a Multilingual Design Studio Classroom” to the spring 2021 issue of INNOVATION magazine, the quarterly publication of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA): “The future of industrial design looks like the increasingly diverse students in our classrooms. It is essential that our studio classroom environments allow them to be their full selves and affirm their lived experiences.”
