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The new kid in the art world 

By Anna Sarkissian

Growing up, Rosie Prata was always the “new kid” at school; she was never allowed to be shy. Born in London, England, she has lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland and Oakville, Ont.

“Moving around a lot helped me to realize that the world is not such a large scary place, and that it's very easy to integrate into new ways of life,” she says.

Prata settled in nicely when she came here to study art history and English literature. She started copy editing for the Concordia Undergraduate Journal of Art History and went on to become Editor-in-Chief.

She also curated exhibits for CUJAH and Art Matters, including the successful Make Yourself at Home which was part of Nuit Blanche. “I love the city of Montreal for its young population and thriving art scene,” she says.

Her summers were action-packed. She was a Public Programmer at the Joseph Brant Museum, a small local history museum in Burlington, Ont., and interned in the Art Department at Ritchies Auctioneers in Toronto. At the Royal Ontario Museum, she volunteered in the Natural History department and explored the Meso-American archaeological archives, the Greek and Roman archives, and the Canadiana archives.

Back at Concordia, Prata was the undergraduate Art History representative and attended departmental meetings, met with new students and spoke at the department’s career day.

For Prata, the faculty members at Concordia are a real draw. “They are all tremendously warm, intelligent, dedicated and hard-working people,” she says, “and I feel privileged to have formed friendships with them.”

Loren Lerner, Chair of Art History, recommended her as a Great Grad and wrote that she was “an exceptionally bright, energetic and mature young woman.”

Prata is currently working in Toronto for Ritchies and hopes to pursue graduate studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.