Mickalene Thomas is a world-renowned visual artist, filmmaker, curator, and educator; a leading voice in contemporary art; a recipient of the Clio Award and Gordon Parks Award; and named as one of the 2025 Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people as an “Innovator.” Mickalene’s Pratt journey began in the late 1990s when she visited during Pride Week. “I immediately fell in love with this campus and the surrounding community,” she says. “The student life was energetic and full of creative culture, Spike Lee’s Joint was down the street, and there was creativity happening in all the cafes. If you wanted to pursue an artist’s life, Brooklyn was the place to be.”
After completing her BFA studies, Mickalene earned the distinction of being the first Pratt graduate accepted into the MFA program at the Yale School of Art in over 20 years. “Pratt planned a celebration where they gifted me an easel,” she recalls. “The love I felt for this community was genuine, and it inspired me to stay involved by joining the Board. After graduating from Yale, I returned to establish my practice here because I knew this was a remarkable community at the heart of arts and culture.”
Today, Mickalene is a pioneering global artist whose work spans multiple disciplines—including mixed-media painting, collage, photography, and installation. Her latest work, All About Love, which honors the agency, beauty, and resilience of Black women, recently opened at the Grand Palais in Paris, making her the first Black person to have a solo exhibition at this historical institution. “I remember honing my artistic voice in Pratt’s studios and classes, and I’m excited to see how World Makers will invest in these vital creative spaces,” she says. “When a student walks into a building on campus, all they should be thinking about is making art, their designs, their artistry, and their collaborations—investing in Pratt’s capital projects is a direct investment in helping students sustain that focus.”
One of our greatest assets is our campus, and a lot of our goals for the campaign are to continue to improve the campus, modernize it, and elevate it to the highest standard.
Gary Hattem, MS City Planning ’75; Chair, Board of Trustees
It’s a historic opportunity for our community. This is our chance to imagine a bold new future for architecture education.
Quilian Riano, Dean of the School of Architecture
Now is the time to give back to these students. Technological advancements always create disruption, and it’s critical that we empower the next generation of design leaders to channel disruption into greater positive impact on our profession and our world.
Andy Cohen, BArch ’78; Global Co-Chair of Gensler
