Obama Taps Ellsworth Kelly and Brad Lander

Ellsworth Kelly and President Barack ObamaThe White House recently honored two prominent Pratt alumni: artist Ellsworth Kelly and New York City Councilmember Brad Lander, who is also former head of the Pratt Center for Community Development.

On July 10, President Barack Obama presented Kelly with a National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the U.S. government. Approximately 300 people have received the award since its inception in 1984.

Kelly, a Pratt student from 1941 to 1943, was honored for “his contributions as a painter, sculptor, and printmaker. A careful observer of form, color, and the natural world, Kelly has shaped more than half a century of abstraction and remains a vital influence in American art.” He was one of 12 recipients this past year.

Kelly’s Blue Green Yellow Orange Red, a painting with stark vertical color panels, was named a Pratt Top 125 Icon, part of the 125th anniversary celebration last year. 

Just weeks after Kelly’s award, the White House named councilmember Brad Lander (M.S. City & Regional Planning '98) a “Champion of Change,” a distinction given to Americans “doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”

Brad LanderThe White House chose Lander as part of a group focused on “civic hacking and open government.” They highlighted his work as “one of the first councilmembers to bring ‘participatory budgeting’ to his district, giving residents the power to decide which projects to support with their tax dollars.”

In 2011, Lander and three other New York City Councilmembers established the participatory budget process, allowing residents to choose how to use capital discretionary funds. This year, local citizens opted to fix public school bathrooms, plant trees, extend sidewalks, and complete several other local projects.

Lander directed the Pratt Center for Community Development between 2003 and 2009, when he was elected to the New York City Council, representing Brooklyn’s 39th district, which includes the Columbia Waterfront, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, and Borough Park.

Text: Ruth Samuelson
Photos: NEA.gov and Joyce George