The Daily Hub

Rodney Leon, BArch ’92, designed the recently opened Cultural Museum of African Art in Bed-Stuy, which features more than 3,000 ancient artifacts. “Our challenge was really to balance and provide enough space for the artifacts to be exhibited,” Leon said. “No matter what, we were going to do whatever to help bring this public space to fruition.”

Sahar Khraibani, acting assistant chair of undergraduate communications design, received a 2023 Arts Writer Grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation. The work enabled by the grant will entail “a series of articles on the artistic modes of production employed by queer artists from the Arab world and its diaspora.”

Martha Molfetas, visiting assistant professor in the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, was chosen as New America’s Senior Planetary Politics Fellow for 2024. “New America’s Fellows Program invests in thinkers—journalists, scholars, filmmakers, and public policy analysts—who generate big, bold ideas that have an impact and spark new conversations about the most pressing issues of our day.”

Mary McBride, chair of Creative Enterprise Leadership, is discussing her book Leading As If Life Matters: An Invitation to Attend a Future of Our Own Making at the Design Management Institute Symposium 2023 on Dec. 6. McBride’s book is a call to action “for human enterprise to take on the challenge to restabilize the key elements upon which our shared future depends.”

Maria Montes Duran, BFA Photography ’25, received the New Generation Prize of the PHMuseum 2023 Women Photographer’s Grant for her photography series ¿Cómo te sientes ahora? “My visual style has been influenced by my Hispanic-American heritage and it is a consistent theme in my photos. I explore this through various methods and connect these disparate parts through one investigation of my culture,” she said of the project, which will be displayed at the Photo Vogue Festival 2023.

Cultured Magazine selected Isabelle Brourman, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’19; Theresa Chromati, BFA Graphic Design ’14; and Emma Stern, BFA ’14, for its 2023 Young Artists List, which recognizes up-and-coming artists to watch. “The makers featured here, all 35 or younger, are a testament to the resourcefulness and optimism required to choose not only the work, but also the life of an artist.”

Andreas Palfinger, MArch ’25, discusses his creative interests, career, and views on artificial intelligence in an interview with Visual Atelier. “A.I. definitely created interesting new workflows, positioning human creators as art directors who work with non-human creators,” he said.

Creative Bloom profiled Xiangni Song, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’22, showcasing her work and exploring her transition from illustration to fine arts. “Today, painting, drawing and ceramics are Xiangni’s medium of choice, and her art deals with themes of identity, self-observation and the imagination.”

Fernando Ortiz Báez, BA Critical and Visual Studies ’14, was recently recognized by El Diario Nueva York as one of the most influential Latino men in the tristate area for his work in economic development and community engagement in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. “There are beautiful spaces, economic development, employment opportunities, mobilization,” he said. “I think the best way to combat poverty is by giving people economic opportunities.”

Karin Yngvesdotter, adjunct professor-CCE of fashion design, discussed the importance of size inclusivity and Pratt’s soon-to-launch MFA in Fashion Collection + Communication with Fashionista. “We have gone over every syllabus with a fine tooth comb to make sure there’s diversity, equity and inclusion in size and gender, wherever appropriate for the course,” she said.