Student Experiences, 2026

Ferdousi Islam, MA in Art History and MLIS

What lines the left loggia wall of Paolo Veronese’s vibrant painting, The Feast in the House of Levi?  It was a question I asked in my Venetian Renaissance course, addressed by neither the best online reproductions nor scholarly literature.  But standing in front of the massive banquet scene in the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, I found my answer.  This was only a sliver of the Pratt in Venice (PiV) summer study program under the direction of the engaging Professor Gisolfi.

I am a dual-degree graduate student in Art History and Library & Information Science.  Every day, Venice revealed a new layer to my studies, from the pink-and-white masonry of the Palazzo Ducale to the Indonesian Biennale pavilion at historic Scuola di Grafica.  I had visited Italy as an art historian previously, but with only fleeting hours in Venice.  This was my first time learning about the Orsoni mosaic factory, the Scuola Dalmata—with a behind-the-scenes look at conservation—and church frescoes less considered.  Day trips to Padova (with a private viewing of the Scrovegni Chapel, no less!) and Palladian villas at the foothills of the Alps were program highlights; these provided a vivid understanding of the broader Veneto region.  

Examining art and architecture in situ enriched my education, while my research allowed me to explore transcultural connections beyond the borders of Venice.  As a PiV graduate assistant, I was also able to support fellow student research at the Cini Foundation and Querini Stampalia libraries, as well as visit the storied Biblioteca Marciana.  

Outside of class, a trip to the stunning antiquities chamber of the Palazzo Grimani, working with the city to save a duck trapped in a defunct pasta factory(!), and gorging on lip-smacking cicchetti and gelati made for a summer without equal.

So what was tucked along the left loggia in Veronese’s painting?  It was a festive display of vertically stacked plates—a rhythmic, glimmering wall that dazzled the banquet guests and functioned as a (secularized) echo of Christ’s radiance.

Noa Alonso, BFA Art History

For many artists and art historians, visiting Venice is a lifelong dream. Spending six weeks,

living and studying there, turned that dream into a reality. While Venice is often seen as a quick

weekend trip or a stop on the way to another city, it is a place that reveals itself slowly. Living

there allowed me to experience much of what this dynamic city has to offer and notice things

that are easy to miss as a tourist. The program was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I

encountered works of art that had been on my wish list for years, works of art I never imagined I

would see in person, let alone in their original architectural and historical contexts.

What makes Pratt in Venice truly unique is that you do not simply study works of art; you learn

how they were made. Beyond understanding the historical and cultural significance, you gain a

deeper appreciation for the materials, techniques, and craftsmanship behind them. One of the

highlights of the program was going behind the scenes at active conservation sites, visiting the

mosaic conservation labs at San Marco, watching paintings being actively restored, seeing the

traditional materials and methods still in use today, and meeting the conservators and artisans

dedicated to preserving Venice's artistic heritage. These hands-on experiences provide an

understanding of art and conservation that simply cannot be replicated in a traditional

classroom.

The program also extends far beyond Venice itself. I highly recommend taking advantage of

both the organized excursions and the independent trips, as they became some of my favorite

memories of the summer. Visiting the mosaics of Ravenna, the frescoes of Padua, and

spending a weekend in Florence allowed me to experience some of Italy's greatest artistic

treasures while gaining a broader appreciation for its history and culture. One of my favorite

trips was a day trip through the Veneto. We visited Castelfranco Veneto, toured Palladian villas

featuring frescoes by Giovanni Battista Zelotti and Paolo Veronese, drove past the Dolomites,

and ended the day with an unforgettable meal at a local family's home. Experiences like these

deepened my appreciation for Italian culture and created memories I’ll always look back on.

Among Pratt's many study abroad opportunities, Pratt in Venice stands out because it combines

rigorous academics with experiences that very few students would ever have the chance to

have. The faculty – Diana Gisolfi, Elizabeth Duttemen, Fay Ku, Michael Brennan, and Jill

Brandwein – are not only incredibly knowledgeable but also genuinely invested in their students.

They made every lecture, site visit, and discussion engaging, and the relationships I built with

both the professors and my classmates became the most valuable parts of the program. I

wholeheartedly recommend Pratt in Venice to anyone interested in studying abroad. It is an

immersive, challenging, and incredibly rewarding experience that will stay with you long

after the program ends.

Student Experiences, 2025

Jay Bailyn MLIS, MA Art History

I have been in love with Italian art history for as long as I remember. As a child I would

visit museums and inevitably end up standing, awe-inspired, in front of a painting, altarpiece or

sculpture from the Italian Renaissance. Due to this life long love, being able to spend six weeks

in Venice, where Italian renaissance painting reached such great heights, was a once in a

lifetime experience. An experience that I would urge anyone and everyone to try to partake in.

Pratt in Venice is incredibly special, you are able to spend time in one of the most

wonderful cities in the world with some of the best faculty in the world seeing some of the most

breathtaking art in the world. I truly think, over the six weeks I spent during this program, I have

learned equal to, if not more about art history than in many semesters spent in traditional

classroom settings. The ability to be up close and in person with these magnificent works of art

is a truly indescribable experience and so important for young scholars. As is having access to

the many different libraries and academic resources within the city. Some of the most special

moments for me during the program were spent with the Materials and Techniques class where

we would often get to go behind the scenes at some of Venice’s most famous sites such as the

mosaic lab at San Marco. Here, the class was given a tour of the lab and an incredibly

informative lecture on how the conservation of mosaics at Saint Mark’s Cathedral is conducted

as well as the history of mosaic conservation. We were also able to visit two Tintoretto

altarpieces that were under conservation by Save Venice at the church of San Giorgio

Maggiore. Visiting these pieces that I had written about in a paper the previous semester and

having the opportunity to see them up close and spend time appreciating all of the details that

one would not have been able to see looking at them up on a wall was genuinely one of the best

moments of my academic life.

I cannot write this letter without mentioning how incredible it was just to exist within the

city of Venice. This city is truly a work of art in and of itself and being surrounded by its history,

art, and culture for six weeks was just the cherry on top of a life-changing trip. I still sometimes

feel the gentle rock of the waves beneath the Vaporetto when I’m falling asleep. I will forever be

grateful to the wonderful faculty and staff who encouraged me to participate in the Pratt in

Venice program. I would urge anyone who is even just curious about Venice, art history or the

visual arts to participate in this amazing program.

Daisy Quan BFA Painting

Pratt in Venice was one of the most crucial components of my undergraduate career. It was

essential to experience Venice, to see the art and architecture in person. To walk into San Marco,

to stand in the silence of Torcello’s Santa Maria Assunta, to study the Palladian geometry of San

Giorgio Maggiore, or to wander through the Doge’s Palace was to learn more than slides or

books ever could. It was also to be reminded that art lives in its place, and that history lives on

every surface, on every wall.

I want to thank Diana Gisolfi in particular for her leadership and her years of work that have

made this program possible. That she has sustained and shaped Pratt in Venice for so many years

makes me especially grateful to have had the chance to participate in it. Thank you also to

Elizabeth Duntemann, whose art history instruction gave me a fuller, more complex

understanding of each site we visited.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the faculty who shared their own practices with us: Michael

Brennan, painting; Fay Ku, printmaking; and Jill. Each of them contributed to my experience of

this program.

In terms of my own artistic development, this summer gave me an opportunity to hone my ability

to look and to make. I was able to attend the Venice Biennale—something I had been looking

forward to for years—and that was an extraordinary experience, providing me both inspiration

and a sense of contemporary practice on a global scale. Along with this, I was able to forge

connections with peers and faculty that I will continue to build upon in the future.

Above all, however, I carry away from Venice a keener eye, a more rigorous mode of thought,

and a clear sense of how art study and art practice are inextricably linked. For this, I am deeply

grateful.

Student Experiences, 2024

Arthur Furniss, M.Arch, ‘26

Venice is a city that overwhelms you in every way - to try to see all of it within the span of six weeks is an audacious undertaking, yet as a student of the Pratt in Venice program I certainly was able to give a pretty good go at it.

From the moment I stepped off the train and onto the steps of the Santa Lucia train station, my only goal was to make the most of my short time in La Serenissima. By the end of the first week, I was already beginning to find my orientation within the city - I knew, for example, that the Strada Nuova would take me directly from my apartment in Cannaregio to San Marco, and that the fastest way to get to UIA, the beautiful school on the Giudecca island where much of the program takes place, I would need to take the Numero Due vaporetto (public transport boat) in the direction of Piazzale Roma to avoid the swarms of tourists heading in the opposite direction. These journeys through the streets, canals, and open waters of the Venetian lagoon were a fundamental part of my experience those six weeks, as I attempted to fill the notebook I had made as part of my printmaking class with as many sketches of the palaces and people of the city as I could.

The experience of those six weeks was not restricted to the Metropolitan city of Venice - frequently, we would leave the isolation of the lagoon to explore historic sites on the mainland, from the rich mosaics of Ravenna to the hills and vineyards of the Veneto, where many of the sumptuous villas of the Venetian patrician class still stand. On our trip to Bassano del Grappa, we visited one such home, designed by the ubiquitous Palladio, where we found a pair of beautiful dogs stretched out on the portico, enjoying the sun as it spread its warmth over the vineyard-covered landscape. Once inside, we found that the very same dogs had been painted by Veronese in his beautiful frescoes five hundred years before. For the first time, I began to realize just how much history could be encapsulated in such a small space, that even from a distance of centuries the works of people now long dead, both famous and forgotten, continue to speak to us.

The experience offered by Pratt in Venice is second to none - nowhere else could I have stood inches away from a Tintoretto ceiling under restoration in the Palazzo Ducale, or explored the closed off balconies of San Marco basilica where the tireless restorers of millenia-old mosaics continue to operate. Nowhere else could I have paired the first-hand study of art history with a first-class art making experience, such as the printmaking course taught in the beautiful facilities of the Scuola Grafica. To try to fit so many memories into one page is perhaps just as audacious as to fit the entire city of Venice into six weeks - nevertheless there is no doubt that no matter how limited my experience of Venice was in relation to its vast trove of monuments and experiences, it has carved out a sizeable place in my heart and mind for years to come.

Sofia Rodriguez, Painting ‘26

Pratt in Venice was a deeply transformative and inspirational experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who would benefit from the immersive learning experience of visiting the art that we are so used to learning about from afar. I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to spend my summer on the program and experience profound personal, artistic, and social change. I have gained invaluable wisdom, perspective, and inspiration from my faculty and peers in our mutually supportive community. The experience overwhelmed me with an urge to record every part of the place in any way I could. I would spend my days sketching, writing, and painting with an urgency to capture what I knew was a fleeting experience. Reflecting now after the program, I have found this in-the-moment work to be an important reference as I move my work forward with what I have learned from the program. A change of lifestyle, social sphere, and habit for six weeks led to personal and artistic development that I wouldn’t find otherwise. As a painting student and course assistant, I was able to become deeply involved with the program and focus fully on my painting practice.

The mystery and the novelty of the city were continuously striking. The program was long enough to take in a solid amount of the city, but I would find myself surprised every day, no matter how much of a routine I built up. One of the most striking places we spent time in was at our painting campus, the Università Internazionale dell'Arte on Giudecca, an island on the lower half of Venice. With the guidance of our professor Michael Brennan, our painting class formed a close community and created an environment where we could bounce ideas off of one another. The view from Giudecca was striking; we would sit by the water during breaks and watch boats go by, hear distant conversations, and see the hazy horizon with buildings in the far distance as we would listen to the ambient noise of cicadas chirping all summer. 

Exploring the surrounding area through trips with the program along with personal day trips out of Venice formed some of the most lasting and influential memories of the trips as well. The mosaics of Ravenna, the frescoes of Padua, and the master paintings from my trip to Florence were some of the most profound creative influences of the experience. This program brings so much of what we learn in art history along with the contemporary art world—as we traveled during the Biennale—that we typically learn about in a class setting within our reach during a crucial part of our art education.

I am grateful for my opportunity to attend the program and learn from the brilliant faculty that teach with a structure that gives me full freedom to explore the city and develop my practice. I am endlessly glad that I could spend my summer in such a memorable place working within an encouraging environment to learn from talented peers, a city rich with history, and new experiences.