BAP 30th Anniversary Archive

Welcome to the BAP 30th Anniversary celebration archive. As The Black Alumni of Pratt celebrates three decades of successfully supporting Pratt’s Black and Latinx students and alumni we are building the archive to leave a legacy of the great work that has been accomplished. In this curated collection of items from 1990–2020 you will see BAP memorabilia of many stripes, including gala invitations, event posters, photos, newsletters, and even a letter from a U.S. first lady. All you see here comes from the Alumni Collection housed at the Pratt Institute Archives. To see more BAP items from this collection, please visit JSTOR. If you would like to make a contribution to the BAP archive see details here.









Program for the 7th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Benefit Dinner, printed on a foldable black box. The event was held on May 11, 1998 at the Mark Hotel in New York City. Honorees were Brooke Astor, Jessye Norman, and DreamWorks, SKG. The box also contains a metal fork engraved with the honorees' intials and a reply card for the event.

Invitation to the BAP slide exhibition "Up Against the Wall," held in Esther Lloyd-Jones Hall (formerly known as Ryerson Hall). The invitation has a mock slide mounted to it.





Handkerchief and membership reply card for BAP's second annual Women's History Month event, "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep!"





First issue of the Black Alumni of Pratt newsletter; includes a letter from acting president Dwight Johnson.





Black Alumni of Pratt newsletter that includes an events calendar and a ballot for electing the BAP board.







Gift catalog Black Alumni of Pratt donors.



Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt Scholarship Fund Brunch. The event took place on May 18th, 1996 at The Carlyle in New York City.






















































Calendar commemorating BAP's fifth anniversary, spanning May 1996-May 1997. The calendar features the Celebration of the Creative Spirit honorees of 1996: John Morning, Franklin A.Thomas, Karl Kani, and C. Adrienne Rhodes



Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's Scholarship Fund Dinner. The event took place on May 12, 1997 at the Carlyle in New York City.










Materials from BAP's sixth annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards. The materials include a foldable cloth with the event program printed on it and an event reply card. The event was held on May 12, 1997 at the Carlyle in New York City. Honorees were Osborn Elliott, Westina Matthews, and Fila USA.



Fall '97 issue of Sketches, a bi-annual newsletter produced by the Office of the Black Alumni of Pratt. The newsletter details alumni accomplishments and fundraising efforts.

















Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 7th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards. The event was held on May 11, 1998 at the Mark hotel in New York City. Honorees were Brooke Astor (Creative Spirit Award), Jessye Norman, and DreamWorks SKG.



Press release announcing Hillary Rodham Clinton's attendance at the 8th Annual "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" benefit. Clinton presented Townsend Wolfe with the Creative Spirit Award at the event. The press release also describes the professional accomplishments of the honorees.







Program that was included with mailed RSVP cards for the 8th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Dinner. The event took place on April 19, 1999 at The Mark in New York City and honored Thomas Burrell, Bobby Short, and Townsend Wolfe.

Invitation to BAP's 30/30 exhibition, printed on cardboard. The exhibition featured works by Indira Bailey, Stephan Chong, Bianca Dorsey, Curtis E. James, Dahlia Jarret, Carmen Lizardo, Alexis Mariel, Kadir Nelson, Hadieh Shafie, Ana Tous, and Joseph J.T. Warner. The event was held between February 4-March 5, 2000 at the Cinque Gallery in Manhattan.













Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 10th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards. The event was held on April 24, 2001 and honored Philippe Starck (Pinnacle in Art and Design Award), George Kalinsky (Lifetime Achievement Award), Sylvia Rhone (Lifetime Achievement Award), Martin Cooper (Creative Spirit Award), and Emil Wilbekin (Creative Spirit Award).







Invitational program for the 10th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Dinner. The event took place on April 24th, 2001 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The honorees were Philippe Starck (Pinnacle in Art and Design Award), George Kalinsky (Lifetime Achievement Award), Sylvia Rhone (Lifetime Achievement Award), Martin Cooper (Creative Spirit Award), and Emil Wilbekin (Creative Spirit Award).

Promotional material advertising a networking event and book party for Karen Pugh's book In Our Own Image, hosted by the Black Alumni of Pratt. The event took place on Tuesday, March 26th, 2002 at the Caroline Ladd Pratt House in Brooklyn, NY.



Invitation to the Black Alumni of Pratt Scholarship Fund's 11th Annual "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" Award. The event was held on May 1, 2002 and honored Iman, Terrie Williams, Marc Ecko, and Oral Lee Brown. The front of the invitation shows Jonathan Green's painting, Celebration, 2000.













Materials include a packet of Forget-me-not seeds, a miniature rake/shovel, the event program and invitation. The event was held on May 1, 2002 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City and honored Iman (Lifetime Achievement Award), Terrie Williams (Lifetime Achievement Award), Marc Ecko (Creative Spirit Award), and Oral Lee Brown (Brooke Astor Award).

New York Beacon article from late January, 2003 covering BAP's 7th annual holiday party.

Article from the New York Times' Metro section detailing the fundraising efforts of BAP president Dwight Johnson.







Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 13th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards. The event was held on on May 12, 2004 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Honorees were Walter Cronkite (Brooke Astor Award), Ed Lewis (Lifetime Achievement Award), Christina Norman (Creative Spirit Award), and Ed Welburn (Creative Spirit Award).



Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 14th Annual "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" Benefit Dinner. The event took place on Friday, May 6th, 2005 at the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room in New York City. The honorees were Manolo Blahnik (Pinnacle in Art & Design Award), Simmie Knox (Lifetime Achievement Award), Raymond McGuire (inaugural Patron of the Arts Award), and Antonio "L.A." Reid (Creative Spirit Award).

Translucent plastic blue bag inscribed with the BAP logo.



Reusable, foldable water bottle inscribed with the BAP logo. The water bottle also has a carabiner attached to it.

Save the Date card for an event hosted by the Black Alumni of Pratt on May 15, 2006






Invitation to the Black Alumni of Pratt's 12th Annual Holiday Party, toasting Teman and Taran Evans, Shaka King, Keija Minor, and David Pilgrim. The event took place on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at the Hotel QT in New York City.
















Program, invitation, and reply card for the 16th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Benefit Dinner. The event was held on May 3, 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Honorees were Prudence Solomon Inzerillo and Gabriella Morris.



Save the Date card for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 13th Annual Holiday Party, toasting Audrey Smaltz, Derrick Adams, Kadir Nelson and Johnny Nunez. The event took place on December 14, 2007 at the St. Regis hotel in New York City.










Invitation to BAP's 18th annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Benefit Dinner. The event was held on May 13, 2009 at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, and honored Lisa Schiff (Brooke Astor Award), Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder.



Save the Date card for the 2009 Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards.



View-Master reel with stereoscopic color images depicting past BAP events. The envelope for the reel lists the names of BAP's advisory council.

Orange nylon bag with drawstring and book commemorating BAP's 25th anniversary.













Event program and invitation/reply card for BAP's annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Awards. This event marked the 25th anniversary of the awards ceremony. The event was held on May 12, 2015 at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City. Honorees were Harris Diamond, Harold Koda, Joseph Mizzi and Mitchell J. Silver.



Save the Date card for the 23rd Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala. The event was held on September 12, 2014 Jazz at Lincoln Center.



Save the Date card for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala.



Save the Date card for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 2017 Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala.





Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 26th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala. The event was held on May 18, 2016 at the Four Seasons hotel in New York City. Honorees were Andréa McBride (Creative Spirit Award), Robin McBride (Creative Spirit Award), and Tristan Walker (Creative Spirit Award).





Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 23rd Annual "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" Benefit Dinner. The event took place on September 12, 2013, at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall. Michele Oka Doner received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Anita Durst, Audrey Smaltz, and Andrea L. Taylor received Creative Spirit Awards.







Program for the Black Alumni of Pratt's 28th Annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit Scholarship Benefit Gala. The event took place on May 8, 2018, at the Park Hyatt New York. The honorees were David Hockney (Lifetime of Artistic Excellence Award), Naomi Campbell (Lifetime Achievement Award), Virgil Abloh (Creative Spirit Award), Pat McGrath (Creative Spirit Award), and David N. & Joyce B. Dinkins (inaugural David N. & Joyce B. Dinkins Pinnacle Award).





Card requesting donors to join the Celebration Committee at different tiers.





Program for the memorial honoring Karen L. Glover. Glover was born in Morristown NJ and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Merchandising and Business from Pratt Institute.

Flier promoting a month-long celebration of Black History at Pratt Institute.



Pledge card with a profile of Jean-Baptiste Rivière, a Fashion Design student who received a $10,000 scholarship from BAP.
Banner image: Celebration, 2000 (detail). Oil on Linen, 18" x 24" Jonathan Green. Collection of Richard & Laura Parsons.