The Black Alumni of Pratt

Shoutout to Tomisin Sarumi, BFA 3D Animation & Motion Arts ‘25. Their senior thesis film, “Departing”, was featured in the African Film Festival at Lincoln Center last week.

Big Congratulations .s!!!

Pratt Alumni, and , were announced this morning as Tony Award nominees, for Best Costume Designer of a Play. Sosa for The Balusters (Best Play nominee) and Tazewell for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Best Original Score nominee).

Both artists have had long careers on Broadway, and both have come back to Pratt in recent years to participate in Black Dress Talks.

Let’s wish them well!!!

THANK YOU to the students and the alumni and industry representatives who came out to support them at BAP’s annual CareerConnect. Students representing animation, architecture, painting and photography shared their portfolios and resumes with representatives from The Animation Project, Animoon, Buro Happold, Devin B. Johnson Studio, Disney, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spotify, and The Luupe.

CareerConnect is more than a portfolio review. It’s a networking event, learning opportunity, dinner party, and a good time hosted by The Black Alumni of Pratt with the support of the Center for Career and Professional Development.

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Photos: Dahlia Dandashi pratt.edu/pcomm

Women’s History is Pratt History!

Meet artist Lilian Thomas Burwell, and see her work at Berry Campbell Gallery through March 14.

Lilian Thomas Burwell was born in 1927 in Washington, D.C., and attended Pratt Institute, where she also did her practice teaching. She earned an MFA from Catholic University in 1975. As a master teacher of art in the public schools of Washington, D.C., she designed the pre-secondary school art curriculum before becoming a member of the visual arts faculty at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She served as board member of the Smithsonian Institution Renwick Alliance from 1989 to 1992, and the Arlington Arts Centers from 1984 to 1987. She was founding and curatorial director of the Alma Thomas Memorial Gallery and curatorial director of the Sumner Museum and Archives in Washington, D.C., from 1981 to 1984.

In April 2022, Burwell received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Howard University, Washington, D.C. She was honored alongside Betye Saar and Dr. Alvia Wardlaw. Her work was included in Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today, an intergenerational exhibition highlighting 21 Black female abstract practitioners that traveled from Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City to The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017 and 2018.

Photo & Text: Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery

BAP Student x Alumni Connection was big fun at the Spring BAP Student Meeting.

Young MFA alums Leslie Trotter & Xin Li came back to campus to share their new collaboration with BAP students. And as a focus group the students did not disappoint! The room was filled with lively, intelligent conversation.
It was a great opportunity for all.

Shoutout to VP Vernese Edghill-Walden and CommD Professor, Anthony Williams for stopping by and spending time with the alums.

FASHION STUDENTS there are many ways to be in the fashion business. Come learn how from the legendary Freddie Leiba, this Friday at 6:00 PM in Higgins Hall. Free with registration. Use QR code or Link in bio.

GREATNESS was on campus last night. Architect and author spoke candidly with Dean about her book, GREATNESS: Diverse Designers of Architecture, to an audience of students, alumni, faculty, staff and renowned architects, in Higgins Hall.

Pascale shared insider info on the development of her book, her writing process, her career, and the influence of her Pratt education.

Also in attendance was the leadership and staff of
, co-sponsors of the event with . A lively raffle was held providing copies of GREATNESS to five lucky winners from Gedeon.

Shoutout to architecture student Kylie Grant and Andrew Colarusso of for their amazing support of this event.

Join the Center of Equity and Inclusion for its annual We Are Pratt: Meeting this Moment open house. A campus-wide celebration of belonging and creativity, bringing together students, faculty, and staff.

📅 Wednesday, October 22, 2025
🕝 2:30 – 4:30 PM
📍 Center for Equity & Inclusion (Main Building, Lower Level, Room 004)

Link in bio

You will:
Hear from President Frances Bronet and Vice President Vernese Edghill-Walden as they share Pratt’s vision and launch key initiatives like the Perspectives program and Pratt’s new institutional values.
Take part in interactive activities, community dialogues, and creative spaces where your voice and imagination can shine.
Enjoy great food, vibrant conversation, and meaningful connections.
Whether you’re joining a breakout circle, leaving reflections on the pledge wall, or just soaking in the energy, your presence will help spark new ideas and possibilities for how we live, learn, and work together.

Come ready to celebrate, connect, and co-create Pratt’s next chapter — because meeting this moment calls for all of us!

Join us for a lively conversation as architect and author, Pascale Sablan, BArch ‘06, CEO of Adjaye Associates New York Studio and Founder of Beyond the Built Environment, discusses her new book with Quilian Riano, Dean of Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture.

Hear highlights from GREATNESS, and her career as an architect, full of sage and savvy advice. Five lucky attendees will receive an autographed copy of GREATNESS.

Reception to follow in the Leo J. Kuhn Lobby. Books will also be available for sale by Taylor & Co.

Wednesday, October 22
6:00-8:00 PM
Pratt’s Brooklyn Campus
Higgins Hall (61 St. James Place, Brooklyn, NY 11205)

This event is Supported by The Black Alumni of Pratt and Gedeon GRC Consulting.

Registration link in bio.