Equity Research + Public Practice
October 16, 2025, 6:15 PM – 8:00 PM
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Higgins Hall Auditorium
Equity Research + Public Practice examines how design research can inform architectural practice and become a transformational force for positive change.
Drawing from the work of the Gensler Research Institute’s Center for Research on Equity and the Built Environment, we will explore how research can foster a deeper understanding of social inequity and how, through practice, we can respond with intentional, inclusive, compelling and impactful design solutions.
Talks at the Commons: Maggie Gram
October 21, 2025, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
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The Pfizer Building #730: The Commons
Pratt’s School of Design is excited to welcome Maggie Gram as the third speaker in this Fall’s Talks at The Commons Speaker Series. Maggie Gram is a cultural historian and designer who works as a design lead at Google.
Her new book, The Invention of Design: A Twentieth-Century History, traces how the idea of “design” developed across the twentieth century—its utopian promises, ideological turns, and lasting influence on culture and society.
Reimagining Orality: Story, Movement, and Sonic Histories
October 21, 2025, 5:30pm–7:30pm (Alumni Reading Room)
October 22, 2025, 10am–5pm (Student Union)
October 23, 2025, 10am–8pm (Student Union)
Hosted by Pratt and the Columbia Center for Oral History Research.
This year’s symposium will not only explore innovative practices for collecting, archiving, and sharing oral histories, but also critically examine the very notion of orality itself.
Through a mix of talks and workshops, we will look beyond centering the vocal transmission of narratives to include embodied storytelling, visceral narrative composition, and other presentational forms.
Martha Rosler in Conversation with Julia Bryan-Wilson
October 23, 2025, 6pm–7:30pm
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Dock 72, Brooklyn Navy Yard
Pratt Fine Arts’ Civic Engagement Series
Organized by Alex Strada, Fine Arts Civic Engagement Fellow
Pratt is honored to welcome artist Martha Rosler and art historian Julia Bryan-Wilson for a conversation exploring Rosler’s powerful, politically engaged work on urbanism, women, war, and forms of resistance.
Lessons from The African American Garden
October 23, 2025, 6pm–7:30pm
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Higgins Hall Auditorium
During 2022-2024, the New York Botanical Garden was home to the African American Garden, a three-year initiative curated by culinary historian and award-winning author Dr. Jessica B. Harris to highlight the agricultural and horticultural contributions of the African diaspora in the Americas through the lens of plants.
Including over 100 different plant species, the Garden explored the ways in which botanical knowledge was created, shared, and protected by African communities in the diaspora, and celebrated its transformative power throughout history.
In conversation with food activist and social entrepreneur Henry Obispao, Dr. Jessica B. Harris will talk about the power of plants as signifiers of memory and belonging and the process of translating her long-life scholarly research into a living garden.
Accessibility Town Hall 2025
October 28, 2025, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
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Online and Alumni Reading Room
Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Pratt Institute Accessibility Committee and its achievements! Meet Pratt Institute Accessibility Committee and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Get information regarding ongoing projects and accessibility resources on campus.
Lunch with us: lunch provided to guests (dietary options available on registration).
Creating, Reviewing, or Updating Your Assessment Plan
Wednesday, October 29, 12:30–1:30pm
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This workshop is designed for Chairs, Program Directors, Assessment Facilitators or anyone interested in learning about assessment. This interactive virtual workshop will guide participants on how to create, review, or update a Curriculum Map.
AICAD Symposium: Engaging Values
November 12–November 14, All Day
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The 2025 Symposium considers the role of values in art and design education and practice. The word “value” can mean many things, from what is admired and prioritized individually and collectively to institutional values, financial values, the value of a college education, critical thinking, or media literacy.
The conference organizers invite contributions that explore a range of sites and situations where art and design can affirm, challenge, contest, clarify, and/or reconstruct our notions of values.
View the full program.