Pratt Institute's MFA program will open its studio and gallery doors to the general public today, Friday, April 12, 2013 from 5:00-9:00pm and tomorrow, Saturday, April 13, 2013 from 12:00-6:00pm. Live performances and a reception will take place on Friday night, starting at 8pm at the Flushing Ave Studios. A performance schedule is available here.

100 MFA candidates will exhibit artwork in various forms, including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, new forms, video, performance, installation.

There are two addresses where studios are located. Off-campus at 248 Flushing Avenue (loading dock between Ryerson Avenue and Hall Street), elevator to 3rd Floor, and on-campus at 200 Willoughby Avenue. All campus security booths will also have Open Studio maps and general information.

Visit the Pratt MFA Open Studios website for a preview of participating artists. Pratt MFA Open Studios website.

This event is hosted by the Pratt Artists' League and Pratt's Fine Art Department.

Thankfully noone was physically hurt in the fire that broke out this past early Friday morning at Pratt Institute's main building. And at this moment of rebuilding and heavy hearts for all that was lost, here's an opportunity to help: The Main Building Recovery Fund.

Our thoughts are with you Pratt Community.

photo: from the Pratt Institute Department of Fine Arts Facebook page.

Pratt celebrates 125 years this year. The institution is kicking off the celebration with a gala tonight at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, which was designed in 1929 by a Pratt alum.

Also tonight, in honor of the 125th anniversity of Pratt, the lights of the Empire State Building will glow in gold.

Wishing a hearty congratulatons to Pratt Institute on 125 years!

Treasures of New York celebrates Pratt Institute, excelling in 125 years of educating art and design innovators, premiering June 13th on WLIW21 and June 14th on THIRTEEN. Capturing the college’s milestone through its legacy and contributions to the world of art and design, the film creates a visual timeline of one of Brooklyn’s most-prized institutions.

Located in the heart of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute is recognized worldwide as an influential institution of art and design that has impacted the lives of millions since its founding. In the past decade, the college has grown to become a pillar of Brooklyn’s cultural renaissance and a vital asset to its surrounding communities. Boasting an impressive roster of graduates and faculty such as Eva Hesse, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sylvia Plachy, Annabelle Seldorf, Peter Shelton, Robert Wilson, and Carlos Zapata, among many others, Pratt has indelibly touched many people’s lives through its legacy of artistic endeavors and commercial designs.

Treasures of New York goes inside the prestigious college to discover its vibrant Brooklyn history through the eyes of the two men who “built” it; industrialist Charles Pratt, who founded the school in 1887, and Dr. Thomas F. Schutte, who has been articulating Pratt’s vision since he became the school’s President in 1993. One of the defining moments in the film shows how Schutte spearheaded the revitalization of Pratt’s nearby neighborhoods, particularly on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn.

Hosted by former Pratt student and celebrated writer Pete Hamill, Treasures of New York: Pratt Institute premieres Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 7 p.m. (ET) on WLIW21 and Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on THIRTEEN. After broadcast, the program will be available to national audiences at thirteen.org/treasures-of-ny. The website offers past episodes and conversations with visionaries behind New York’s greatest institutions.

excerpted from the WLIW21 Press Release

To read more from WLIW21, visit here.
And to read more about Pratt's involvement in Myrtle Avenue's revitalization, read Channel 13's story online here.

Photo of Pratt’s Main Building. Courtesy of Pratt Institute Archives

Myrtle Avenue Restaurants & Cafes Celebrate Pratt's 125th Anniversary w/Lunch Specials on Sat., 10/1!

Pratt Institute is turning 125, and they have LOTS of activities planned to celebrate the very first day of classes that took place on October 17, 1887! This weekend, October 1st and 2nd, kickoff weekend!

Pratt has placed twelve (12) anniversary banners on Myrtle Avenue, waving and flying high in commemoration and celebration!

A number of Myrtle Avenue restaurants and cafe's are offering all kinds of very enticing lunch specials on this Saturday, 10/1. Get those Pratt IDs ready! This Saturday, it's your passport to savings on all types of delectable fare up and down the Avenue.

MYRTLE AVENUE (WASHINGTON PARK/CARLTON)

Noor Restaurant, 336 Myrtle

15% off anything on the menu, including smoothies

Sans Souci Restauant & Bar, sanssouciny.com, 330 Myrtle

Happy hour drink specials + 10% off anything on the menu

MYRTLE AVENUE (ADELPHI/CLERMONT)

Duncan’s Fish & Seafood, 385 Myrtle

10% off all lunch plates

MYRTLE AVENUE (VANDERBILT/CLINTON)

Falafel House, 407 Myrtle

All sandwiches and wraps $5-$6; 10% off large meat or spinach pizza pies; 2 slices + can of soda, $5

MYRTLE AVENUE (CLINTON/WAVERLY)

Karrot Health Store, 431 Myrtle

10% off everything, including smoothies (blueberry jubilee, Omega 3 [protein], Obama [peanut butter and banana]

MYRTLE AVENUE (WAVERLY/WASHINGTON)

Anima Italian Bistro, 458 Myrtle, animabistro.com

20% off food and beverages for the day

Five Spot Soul Food & Supper Club, 459 Myrtle, fivespotsoulfood.com

Platters w/2 side orders + cornbread, $7.95 (includes choice of fried chicken, meatloaf, whiting, beef brisket, jerk chicken and chopped BBQ); $2 off beer and wine

Maggie Brown, 455 Myrtle, maggiebrownrestaurant.com

Happy Hour Special: buy one, get one on all well drinks, house wine and draught beers. Available from 5p-7:30p only: burger + beer special, $12; beer + wings special, $10 and $2 off burgers (outside of coupon)

Thai 101, 455A Myrtle

10% off any entree

Thai 101 Bistro, 448 Myrtle

10% off any entree

El Cofre, 454 Myrtle

lunch specials only $5-$6

MYRTLE AVENUE (WASHINGTON/HALL)

Kum Kau Chinese Cuisine, 463 Myrtle

10% off all day (both takeout and sit in)

Zaytoons, 472 Myrtle, zaytoonsrestaurant.com

10% off any entree

Liberty Pizza, 482 Myrtle

2 cheese pizza slices + medium fountain drink, $5

MYRTLE AVENUE (HALL/RYERSON)

Los Pollitos, 499 Myrtle between Hall and Ryerson

10% off all food items

Waza Sushi and Ramen, 485 Myrtle

10% off food and drink items all day

MYRTLE AVENUE (RYERSON/GRAND)

Fork Café, 507 Myrtle, forkcafe.com

15% off all lunch/dinner items for full day; 20% off for party of 5 or more for full day

MYRTLE AVENUE (EMERSON/CLASSON)

Jive Turkey, 570 Myrtle, thejiveturkey.com

50% off all sandwiches on the menu between 12p-5p w/the purchase of a seasonal lemonade

Wally’s Square Root Café, 584 Myrtle, squarerootcafe.com

15% off food and beverages for the day

Wicked Good Franks, 579 Myrtle, wickedgoodfranks.com

15% off of classic burger (frank, fries + soda regularly 5.50), classic burger (cheeseburger, fries + soda regularly $6.50 and kids meal (mini frank or grilled cheese, fries + soda regularly 4.50)

Kadir Nelson, Pratt alumnus and acclaimed illustrator of nearly 30 children's books, will speak at Pratt Institute's Higgins Hall (61 St. James Place) tonight at 7pm.

Nelson will be on hand to discuss his latest book, "Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans" (HarperCollins, 2011).

Nelson is the illustrator of Caldecott and Coretta Scott Award-winning book, 'Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom' as well as many other titles, has been commissioned to illustrate Anna Julia Cooper and Richard Wright stamps for the United States Postal Service and has recently been commissioned by the U.S. Congress to paint a portrait of Shirley Chisholm.

Nelson's work graces the cover of Michael Jackson's posthumous album, 'Michael'.

image taken from Pratt's Facebook page

It's a fashion month of sorts at Pratt.

The Fashion Design Department in collaboration with the Graduate Communications Department is creating a wall mural as part of preparations for the Annual Pratt Fashion Show.

Pratt Fashion students came up with the word 'Inspiration' as the theme of this year's show.

Photo above is of artist, Anthony Acock [Grad CommD student]). He will create the mural and use the footage as part of a video installation that will be shown in the main entrance to the Fashion Show.

The Pratt Fashion Show will be held April 27th at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan and is a major event at Pratt. This year the show is a celebration of Pratt's Brooklyn roots and will honor Hamish Bowles, editor-at-large of Vogue Magazine.

The mural (on the southeast corner of Hall Street, just off of Myrtle Avenue) will be up throughout the month of April.

To celebrate Pratt's history and contributions to the world of art and design since its first day of classes on October 17, 1887, Pratt is lauching the Pratt 125th Anniversary Memory Project. The Project will document recollections of the Institute over the past several decades.

Pratt invites you to share your most compelling memories and images of the school through the decades. Selected submissions will appear in a special commemorative issue of Prattfolio, on the pratt.edu website, and in promotional and other materials related to Pratt's 125th Anniversary.

Deadline to submit memories is February 15, 2011. Send your submissions to the 125th Anniversary Memory Project, including photographs (300 dpi at 100%, if possible), via email to 125memory@pratt.edu. Please include your contact information and Pratt affiliation, including degree and year if you are an alum.

Here's more.

Pratt Institute opened its new six-story, 120,000-square-foot green academic and administrative building, a striking space that is expected to both serve as a physical manifestation of Pratt’s commitment to sustainable design education, and further promote the revitalization of Myrtle Avenue.

Called Myrtle Hall, the building at 536 Myrtle Avenue houses Pratt’s Department of Digital Arts and several administrative offices.

Designed by the New York City architecture firm WASA/Studio A, the new building is expected to meet the United States Green Building Council standards for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification based on its eco-features that include exterior sun shades; a green roof that absorbs rainwater, reflects heat, and sequesters greenhouse gasses; and solar photo-voltaic panels that generate on-site electricity. It will be the first higher education building project in Brooklyn to receive a LEED certification and the first academic building to receive a LEED Gold certification in Brooklyn.

In addition, Myrtle Hall will afford Pratt’s Digital Arts department the space and facilities necessary for its faculty and students to continue their cutting-edge design and research. The digital arts area includes state-of-the-art wired studios/classrooms, a digital resource center, animation labs, a recording studio, graduate studio spaces, and a prominent all-glass gallery in the atrium. The building will also soon allow for an incredible improvement to the Pratt student experience by consolidating all student services offices under one roof.

“This is a momentous occasion for Pratt as it demonstrates the Institute’s commitment to innovative design, environmental sustainability, the renewal of Myrtle Avenue, and most of all to its students,” said Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte, who also has been a driving force in the economic revitalization of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill for more than 10 years as chair of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership.

“Myrtle Hall will move forward our academic program in digital arts and will tremendously improve Pratt’s services for students while serving as a point of pride for the campus community and our neighbors as the first green building in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill area.”

This post is excerpted from a story in Gateway, the community newsletter of Pratt Institute. More details and the full story can be found in Pratt's December issue of Gateway.

Photo courtesy of Pratt Institute. Top: The main entrance to Myrtle Hall facing Willoughby; Bottom: Myrtle Hall facing Myrtle Avenue.

Starting Fall semester '09, Pratt students, faculty and staff will be able to use their Pratt identification cards to make purchases on Myrtle Avenue.

In this expanded capacity id cards will essentially be used as debit cards with cash balances used to shop or dine at local businesses on the Avenue. Currently the cards can be used to make purchases solely on the Pratt campus and related facilities: cafeteria, the PrattSTORE, computer labs, copy center.

The program will be open to approximately 6,200 students, staff, and faculty, and to 150 eligible businesses on Myrtle Avenue.

The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership is currently signing up a smaller number of Myrtle businesses to help pilot the program in the Fall.