Last evening the Pratt Institute hosted its annual Legends 2008 Scholarship Benefit at Lighthouse at Pier 61 in Manhattan honoring Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Takashi Murakami, and Julian Schnabel with host PBS anchor Charlie Rose. Pratt, long treated as the younger sibling of powerhouses FIT and Parson's, has had a chance to shine with the Legends Awards which were conceived in 1999 by the Board of Trustees to celebrate distinguished figures in the world of art, design, and the humanities.  The event’s mission is to raise funds to provide financial aid to Pratt students based on need and merit.

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel was honored for her decades of dedication and advocacy for the arts, design, architecture, and landmark preservation while Takashi Murakami received an award for his achievement in contemporary art. Lastly Julian Schnabel was honored for achievements in just about every area of the arts.

We personally love that while the event is clearly heavily skewed towards the rich creative set that Charlie Rose, one of America's favorite intellectuals, had the host duties. But we suppose with chair Marjorie Kuhn and trustees Kurt Andersen and Amy Cappellazzo there is a bit of the old New York diversity.