Earlier this month, Pratt Institute’s Legends 2016 gala raised a record $1.1 million for student scholarships. An additional $120,000 was raised during the event’s first-ever live auction.
More than 400 guests gathered at Manhattan’s Mandarin Oriental, where Angela Conner, William T. Georgis and Shirley Hill were honored with the 2016 Legends Award.
The honorees received their awards from peers in design, fashion and education. Cooper Hewitt director Caroline Baumann presented the night’s first award to British-born sculptor Conner, whose career has spanned 40 years. AD100 designer and architect Georgis was honored for his design work by renowned artist and author Michele Oka Doner. Hill, a Pratt alumna, is the founder and president of InterArch, an international architecture, design and branding firm. She received her award from Tory Burch co-CEO Roger Farah.
Undergraduate student and scholarship recipient Maryam Turkey spoke of how the financial and emotional support she received from Pratt helped her further her education after moving to this country. “Coming to the United States was the most exciting thing to happen to me at that time, but the whole journey was also the hardest part of my life,” she said. “However, I always had one friend with me that made me really happy and peaceful—it was my sketchbook.”
