Come and see the artwork and research made by this years’ students at the DeKalb gallery! The show is up through the 30th of October, open every day 11-5.
Pratt in Venice 2026 Exhibition
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.
PiV Alumnus: Daryl Landy '97 Pursues Exciting Work in Ghana
In May, Pratt in Venice director Diana Gisolfi had a wonderful conversation with alumnus Daryl Landy (Pratt in Venice, 1997; Master's in Industrial Design, 1998). During this meeting, they discussed Daryl’s recent work in Ghana, where he has been creating his lifestyle brand NKUBAR and his food brand KOJOATTO. After this meeting, we asked Daryl if he could write a brief article on his work after Pratt in Venice. This is what he wrote:
In 1997, without realizing it, I began laying the foundation for the rest of my life. I was a Pratt graduate student working toward my Master's in Industrial Design (MID '98) and enrolled in Pratt in Venice, thinking it would simply complement my rigid training as an architect and designer. I had no idea it would do far more than push me out of my comfort zone. I still recall the exact moment I looked up from my sketch pad and realized that I - a Black kid from Brooklyn - was in Venice, Italy, watching colors change across ancient Venetian architecture as the sun set over the Grand Canal. Thirty years later, that image and the feeling of possibility it created are still etched in my memory. Looking back, I now understand that the journey that brought me to Venice quietly prepared me for an even longer journey.
That summer in Venice taught me that the world could be my home, that craft and culture are inseparable, and that design could be a bridge between where you come from and where you're meant to go. My journey after Pratt was very long and full of challenges, and I was consistently burdened with self-doubt - until a close friend helped me see that all of my life experiences had been preparing me for my life's ambition in Africa.
Every role built on the last. As Creative Director for a tabletop company, I learned to take a product from concept to quality control, working alongside European manufacturers. As an Exhibit Designer for a major trade show production company in White Plains, NY, I learned how to shape immersive experiences that increased exhibitor sales. As Executive Director of a nonprofit in Baltimore, I created fundraising events and community festivals to revitalize a historic commercial district - though at the time, I didn’t fully understand how that work would serve me later. The most challenging chapter, however, was becoming a foster parent to young people from very difficult circumstances in Baltimore city. That experience prepared me to walk into a Bronx classroom armed with enough patience, structure, and heart to manage and teach 5 classes of 30 students Python programming.
My time as a NYC high school teacher finally afforded me the finances to visit Ghana for the first time in April 2018 where it felt both foreign and simultaneously also very familiar to me. I immediately felt at home in a foreign land. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I was allowed to teach remotely from home but they never said home had to be in the Bronx. So I took that opportunity to see if I could truly live on the Continent. I discovered that I could. Leaving the financial security of my job was the hardest part. I had to silence both my own doubts and the external voices telling me I was making a mistake. Even as I hit "send" on my resignation email, I thought, “This is insane! I am starting over in Africa at the age of 50. FIFTY!!!”
Then it hit me: I wasn't starting over. I was beginning the life I had always dreamed for myself - and it was time to put every skill I'd gathered to work. Just before moving to Ghana, in 2019, I created NKUBAR, a lifestyle brand dedicated to sustainable products inspired by African heritage, culture, and function. Several years later, I launched the KOJOATTO food brand to illuminate the culinary and cultural ties that connect the African diaspora to its West African roots - honoring the resilient ingenuity behind Pan-African soul food.
Through NKUBAR, I work alongside master Ghanaian artisans whose hands carry generations of tradition and knowledge. Together, we craft contemporary staples - furniture, textiles, home goods - that tell a new story of Africa. That deep collaboration has shown me how transformative it can be for designers to immerse themselves in a living cultural landscape. Now I am developing a program that could one day offer Pratt students what Venice gave me: the chance to discover that the world beyond your comfort zone is where your real life begins.
Pratt in Venice Announces the New Dimitri Hazzikostas Endowed Scholarship for Art History Degree Candidates Participating in Pratt in Venice!
Pratt in Venice is excited to announce the new Dimitri Hazzikostas Endowed Scholarship for Art History degree candidates. This scholarship has been generously made possible by Ion Hazzikostas, the son of the late Professor Dimitri Hazzikostas, a beloved History of Art and Design professor at Pratt, who taught Art History with Pratt in Venice for over 20 years.
This scholarship will cover the full Pratt in Venice costs for one History of Art and Design student, or that same amount can be shared, according to committee consensus, between multiple art history degree candidates. A generous preliminary donation is already benefiting two students this year!
Dimitri Hazzikostas teaching at Torcello, 2010
Professor Dimitri Hazzikostas joined the Pratt in Venice program in 1988 and taught the on-site Art History class annually through 2011, his knowledge of Byzantine art elevating the course. He instituted many important and lasting aspects of the program. Including the establishment of the first on-site class trip to Torcello, a class visit that still opens the program today. He discovered a trattoria in the hills above Bassano, where Pratt in Venice participants continue to enjoy a feast in a beautiful rustic setting each year. Hazzikostas also expanded on the Padua visit and helped establish that class trip as an iconic part of the Pratt in Venice program.
More than all this, Professor Hazzikostas brought a wealth of knowledge to every student he taught, as well as being a congenial colleague and an ever-generous instructor. We are so grateful that Ion has helped us honor his father’s life and many contributions to Pratt in Venice through this exciting new Art History scholarship!
Diana Gisolfi and Dimitri Hazzikostas co-teaching in the Oratorio di S. Giorgio, Padua, 2006
Michael Brennan Featured in Sound and Vision Podcast
Episode Description: Michael Brennan (b. 1965, Pine Island, FL; lives Brooklyn, NY) has exhibited his paintings and works on paper nationally and internationally for the past three decades, including in the United States, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, China, Australia, and New Zealand.
Here at the gallery, he previously mounted four very well-received solo exhibitions – Floating Weeds (2023), Late Spring (2018), Gray Razor Paintings (2014), and Knife Paintings (2006) – and has participated in numerous group exhibitions including our major survey exhibition MINUS SPACE at MoMA PS1 in 2008-2009 and Twenty (2023).
Brennan’s work have been reviewed in publications including The New York Times, Art in America, ARTnews, Art New England, The Brooklyn Rail, ArtNet Magazine, NY Arts, and Philadelphia Inquirer. He is also an accomplished arts writer, and his reviews and essays have been published in The Brooklyn Rail, ArtNet Magazine, Two Coats of Paint, The Village Voice, The Architect’s Newspaper, American Abstract Artists, and Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution, as well as in numerous exhibition catalogues.
First Information Session for Pratt in Venice 2026
Join Pratt in Venice at the first information session for the summer 2026 program! If you are interested in applying or have questions about the program, stop by and meet our phenomenal faculty and staff. We hope to see you there!
