Suzanne Lettieri is a designer and assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Previously, Lettieri was a Michigan-Mellon Fellow and focused on experimental pedagogical approaches in architecture and design for high school students. The work is geared toward encouraging a more inclusive discipline.
While at MacDowell, she expanded on her research on more inclusive environments through nuanced, aesthetic practices. Related to this work, she wrote an article for an architecture journal about her design and research project: Prom Picture, an interactive virtual environment, inspired by the aesthetic sensibility of her Detroit high school students. The writing completed at MacDowell was used to develop a grant proposal for the creation of a similar pre-college course on interior environments at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The interactive design component of her earlier project spawned a series of prototypes and new pedagogical exercises, which were conceptualized at MacDowell. Lettieri also confirmed specific high school participation in New York City for the pre-college program. The target high schools are experimental in nature, diverse, and are interested in procedural, project-based learning as a means to hone critical design thinking skills. She also planned an artist in residency workshop at FIT in October and worked on developing the prompt: “Personalizing Public Space: A Virtual Reality Workshop.” In November, she exhibited her work, clarified during her residency, as part of “Picturing Space” at the Pomerantz Gallery in New York City.
