Over the past year, Pratt in Venice has been delighted to celebrate its 35 years of the program. Our reflections on over three decades of integrating the study and practice of art in Venice, together with alumni and friends, have invigorated us as we look to the program’s future.
Pratt in Venice alumni and faculty, together in Venice! Left to right: Safiye Şentürk (PiV ‘17); Marietta Burdick (PiV ‘17); PiV director Diana Gisolfi; Joseph Kopta (PiV ‘07, art history faculty); Michael Brennan (painting faculty); Anne Murray (PiV ‘94); Susan Luss (PiV ‘11); Monique Rollins (PiV ‘06); curator Martina Cavallarin; Dan Jakubowski (PiV ‘08).
Pratt in Venice inaugurated its celebrations in honor of its 35th year with the exhibition in Venice, Infinite Jest. Unveiling the work of Pratt in Venice alumnae Monique Rollins (PiV ‘06), Hyewon Hahn (PiV ‘06), and painting faculty Michael Brennan, the exhibition on in May–June 2019 in Venice was a whirlwind of celebration and excitement for the program. The review of the exhibition by alumna Anne Murray (PiV ‘94), “Of Light and Lumination,” was published in June.
Pratt in Venice also organized a panel for Art Night 2019 – the annual “White Night” festival held in Venice. Pratt’s Infinite Jest panel included exhibiting artists Monique Rollins, Michael Brennan, curator Martina Cavallarin, and Pratt in Venice Director Diana Gisolfi, speaking about their creative process, the response as artists to the environment of Venice, ideas present in the exhibition, and 35 years of the Pratt in Venice program.
Additionally, multiple alumni visited Venice to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the program! The celebrations brought Pratt in Venice participants from every decade together with current students, faculty, and friends of Pratt in Venice. In particular, alumni Marietta Burdick (PiV ’17) and Andrew Kurczak (PiV ‘11–’12) gave special guest lectures on Tintoretto at Madonna dell’Orto and at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, respectively. In early July, Pratt in Venice travelled to Rome where alumna Hyewon Hahn (PiV ‘06) was honored on the occasion of her exhibition, Life Line_Begin, held at the Tri-Mission Art Gallery at the United States Embassy in Rome. Additional alumni, including Dan Jakubowski (PiV ‘08); Christian Harding (PiV ‘18); June Allen (PiV ‘84); Anne Murray (PiV ‘94); Susan and Gerald Luss (PiV ‘11); Safiye Şentürk (PiV ‘17); and Abby Staub (PiV ‘18) joined classes, opening receptions, and re-visited Venice with this year’s class.
In October 2019, we were delighted to host the Pratt in Venice 35th Anniversary Exhibition on Pratt’s Brooklyn campus. In addition to visual work and research from 2019 Pratt in Venice participants, the exhibition showcased work by over 100 Pratt in Venice alumni and faculty from every decade since 1984. The exhibition featured works of art in all media – including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, fashion, photography, film, and animation. A Study Center at the heart of the suite of galleries included the many books, articles, theses, and research posters produced as a result of participation in Pratt in Venice.
We were pleased to subsequently publish an Online Catalogue of the exhibition on our website.
Select Pratt in Venice alumni have generously donated works of art featured in the 35th Anniversary Exhibition for purchase in an Online Sale to support the Scholarship Fund. This program offers supporters of Pratt in Venice an opportunity to make an investment in an original work of contemporary art at an affordable price and to simultaneously support future students studying in Venice.
Alumna Christine Weir (PiV ‘95) and Director Diana Gisolfi with Christine’s work. The artist, and others, have offered their work for sale; the proceeds will benefit the Pratt in Venice Scholarship Fund.
In November 2020, eight Pratt in Venice alumni, in celebration of 35 years of the Program, presented papers at the Pratt in Venice 35th Anniversary Research Symposium. The scholar’s day, held virtually via Zoom, and was free and open to the public. Considering all aspects of Venetian visual culture from the Middle Ages to the present, papers and discussion by Pratt in Venice alumni stemmed from research began as participants in the program. The session was recorded, and the individual papers are currently being made public on Pratt in Venice’s YouTube channel.
In looking to continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni, we have initiated a regular e-newsletter, Serenissima: News from Pratt in Venice, which shares the latest from both sides of the Atlantic. Wanting to reach new audiences, we have also initiated a new series of short videos by faculty and alumni, reflecting on the program and various aspects of art and architecture in Venice.
As we’ve reflected on our successes over the past 35 years, we’ve also been looking to the future. With the global health crisis of 2020, we’ve seen that art and its study, as one of the most humanizing activities on earth, is more important than ever. As such, we are fundraising for an Endowed Pratt in Venice Scholarship Fund. Your generosity matters – please join fellow alumni and friends to ensure students access to la Serenissima for the next 35 years of the program, if not more!
