Pratt Institute

Graduate Communications Design

Spring 2026

Instructor: Munus Shih

munus.shih@pratt.edu

Office Hours

5:00pm - 7:50pm, Every Tuesday

Pfizer Building, Room 720-01

Week 2: Why Makes a Community?

Illustration for Week 2

Felix Gozalez Torres's Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991) consists of a pile of candy individually wrapped in multicolored cellophane. The work invites viewers to take a piece of candy, symbolically consuming the portrait of Ross Laycock, Torres's partner who died of AIDS. As visitors take pieces of candy, the pile diminishes, but then refilled by the museum staff everyday. The work creates a participatory experience that reflects on themes of loss, memory, and the impact of AIDS on the LGBTQ+ community.

How did this week's content land for you?

Assignment

Due: Feb 10, 2026

Submit Here

  1. Read THE SOCIAL CHANGE ECOSYSTEM MAP by Deepa Lyer from Building Movement Project.
  2. Look at the Characteristics of the Roles and use the guiding questions in the sheet to brainstorm what you could offer to a community and what roles you usually play, document it in your personal notebook.
  3. Create a 1-week quick project based on the idea of Generosity as a Tool (read more here). Bring it to class and plan to share it with your peers.

In-Class Activity

Other Resources