Pratt Announces Public Launch of $100 Million World Makers Campaign at Legends 2026 Gala

NEW YORK - On October 29, Pratt Institute honored creative icons and marked the public launch of the World Makers campaign at Legends 2026, the Institute's annual gala and scholarship benefit that supports creative education and its power to inspire, open doors, and build futures. The event is essential for the more than seventy-five percent of Pratt students who rely on financial aid to pursue their academic and creative ambitions.

This year's Legends gala celebrated internationally acclaimed artist Derrick Adams, BFA Art and Design Education '96, and visionary leader in architecture and design Andy Cohen, FAIA, BArch '78, Global Co-Chair of Gensler. Together, Adams and Cohen represent the immense impact of Pratt's creative community, from redefining contemporary art through joyful creative practice to shaping the built environment at a global scale.

At the elegant Tribeca Rooftop in Manhattan, guests gathered for a celebratory evening featuring live entertainment, awards, speeches, and skyline views in support of student scholarships.

Pratt President Frances Bronet opened the evening's ceremony by welcoming esteemed guests and announcing World Makers, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Pratt's history, which will make the Institute more accessible, resilient, and sustainable than ever before.

"At Pratt, we bring art, design, architecture, humanities and technology together, with New York City (and beyond) as our sandbox," said President Bronet, adding that "imagination and human judgment are more important than ever."

With a goal of $100 million, World Makers: The Campaign for Pratt Institute is focused on strategic priorities that will deliver vital support to take the Institute's students, world-class faculty, and New York City campuses into the next era.

"The value of creative education is indeed growing as new challenges and technologies emerge," said President Bronet. "Investing in the student experience, our faculty, infrastructure, and our campus reaches far beyond our gates-it opens the door for the most talented students who may not be able to access it. It sustains the teaching, experimentation and partnerships with communities, industry, and cultural enterprise that help those ideas take shape."

Student speaker Hannah Blake, BFA Fine Arts (Jewelry) '27, spoke about the impact of scholarships on her creative trajectory and expressed gratitude for those who make scholarship support possible for students like her. At Pratt, she said, she gained access to "an education and community that could help me get more than my foot through the door." With the aid of the Catbird Scholarship in Jewelry Arts, she was able to overcome the financial barriers to her dream. "Before receiving this scholarship, I was often thinking about what I could afford to make before I was thinking about what I actually wanted to create," she said. For Blake, the stipend changed everything: "the materials I could work with, the techniques I could pursue, the risks I could take, and ultimately the kind of artist I've become."

With the energy of the campaign buzzing in the room, accomplished art advisor and auctioneer Kimberly Pirtle, founder of Gabriel Advisory Group, brought her expertise to Legends for the second time, leading a spirited call to action and lively bidding that engaged the room in support of Legends student scholarships and the World Makers campaign.

Celebrating Creative Icons

Fellow Pratt Legend Mickalene Thomas, BFA Fine Arts '00, took to the stage to present the Legend Award to her friend, artist Derrick Adams. "We celebrate your imagination, brother, your fearlessness, your contributions to contemporary art, the doors you have opened to the artists who will follow you," she said to Adams. "We celebrate the young artist who came to Pratt with a vision and [became an] accomplished artist who continues to nurture, challenge, and transform that vision far beyond these walls."

In accepting his award, Adams spoke about how his time at Pratt influenced his creative practice. "One thing that I loved about being a student is that I had a lot of mentorship...I was constantly involved in conversations, about our ideas surrounding art, and it really fed me as a creative person," he said. "I feel like I had a really well rounded experience in education in my undergrad years at Pratt." He closed by expressing his support for the next generation of artists, adding, "I believe in art, and I believe in the community of art, but I also believe in art education."

Next, Pratt Legend David Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group, welcomed Andy Cohen to the stage to receive his award. Rockwell spoke about Cohen's openness, curiosity, and "belief that good design has the power not just to shape spaces, but to really improve people's lives." Recognizing the long span of Cohen's impressive career, Rockwell said, "There's something really fitting about celebrating Andy here at Pratt, where his remarkable journey began. He is proof that a design education can take you just about anywhere," he said. "I think what makes Andy a particular legend in this case is how many people he's brought along with him on the journey and continues to do so."

"This award matters so much to me because it comes from my roots," said Cohen as he accepted his award. "I have spent my career at Gensler in Los Angeles, but my foundation and roots are here in New York City." In speaking about his time as a student at Pratt, he said, "Imagine a place that hands you a pencil and says, 'Dream bigger. Design your future.' That place was Pratt, and matched perfectly with my passions."

Echoing the spirit of the World Makers campaign, Cohen described design as "the catalyst for massive positive change" and a way to tackle the "world's most complex challenges of our lifetimes."

Each honoree was presented with a Legend Award, designed by Nidhi Jairam, BID '27, under the mentorship of Dana D'Amico, adjunct associate professor of industrial design.

The award ceremony was accompanied by a short video by Mira Santo Tomas, BFA Film '27 highlighting the process behind creating the award.

Originally published by Pratt Institute.

About Gensler

At Gensler, the value of our work stems from its positive impact on the human experience. We are a dynamic and collaborative design firm uniting creativity, research, and innovation to solve complex problems for our clients. Our work challenges conventional ideas about architecture and the built environment. We aren't just designing buildings - we are reimagining cities and places that make a difference in people's lives. Founded in 1965, Gensler has built a team of 7,000 professionals who partner with clients in over 110 countries each year. Everything we do is guided by our mission: to create a better world through the power of design.

About Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute provides the creative leaders of tomorrow the knowledge and experience to make a better world. A top-ranked college with opportunities in art, design, architecture, liberal arts and sciences, and information studies, Pratt offers nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Positioned at the heart of New York's vibrant creative scene, Pratt boasts a 25-acre campus in Brooklyn and an iconic building in Manhattan on 14th Street. A driving force behind initiatives like the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, Pratt has collaborated with Bank Street College of Education and the New York City Department of Education to foster a design- and social-justice-oriented high school in the city. Additionally, Pratt expands its research capabilities with a cutting-edge facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Since its founding in 1887, Pratt has prioritized diversity and inclusion, welcoming students from all walks of life while developing and sustaining pathways to more equitable workplaces and careers. Today, Pratt and its exceptional faculty pride themselves on being academically excellent as well as adaptable to both in-person and online learning. Pratt students are part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary, research- and inquiry-based education that prepares them for success in creative fields and professional practice, with the goal of contributing to a fairer, more sustainable world.

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