For its third edition, Pratt>Forward invited 12 emerging artists to the month-long program launched in 2021 by Pratt Fine Arts in partnership with Pratt Trustee and graduate Mickalene Thomas. The 2024 iteration of Pratt>Forward was held in partnership with Silver Art Projects and Silverstein Properties at the World Trade Center.
Co-directed by Thomas and Fine Arts Chair Jane South, Pratt>Forward supports emerging artists with an intense, focused mentorship experience as they build opportunities and communities. The program connects participants with creative thought-leaders and industry professionals, organizes career-based learning sessions, and provides artistic feedback and professional development tools. Each participant was selected from an open call and received a full scholarship to attend.
“This mentorship program has provided an incredible opportunity for me to collaborate with Pratt, my professional colleagues, and a diverse group of artists,” Thomas said. “Together, we have explored innovative solutions to pressing contemporary issues and cultivated strategies for sustainable artistic practices.”
“The 2024 edition, held at the World Trade Center in partnership with Silver Art Projects and Silverstein Properties, provided an inspiring environment, allowing artists to fully immerse themselves in their practice while engaging with industry professionals,” South said. “This dedicated space fostered creativity and strengthened the program’s mission to equip artists with the connections and confidence needed to navigate the art world successfully.”
The Pratt>Forward 2024 artists were Ty Allen, Ferguson Amo, Alexander Brewington, Jose Duran, Nazli Efe, Bianca Fields, Liu Kincheloe, “JP” Jermaine Powell, Jonathan Sánchez Noa, Nyugen E. Smith, Victoria Walton, and Shihori Yamamoto. The selected artists included Pratt graduates and emerging artists working in interdisciplinary and community-minded ways with media such as drawing, painting, performance, sculpture, and video.
Pratt>Forward’s mentorship program also featured Pratt faculty members, gallerists, curators, activists, critics, writers, and other professionals in the field. Pratt>Forward 2024’s core mentors included Pratt Trustee and alumnus Derrick Adams, BFA Art and Design Education ’96; arts organizer and Director of Company Gallery Elizabeth Lamb; art advisor and host of The Art Career Podcast Emily McElwreath; artist José Parlá; and curator, activist, and Project for Empty Space Founder Jasmine Wahi.
“The real-life advice our mentorship team provided was invaluable,” Powell said. “It went beyond traditional art instruction, touching on the nuances of building a sustainable art career and navigating the complexities of the art world.”
“One of the highlights of the residency was the series of field trips organized by the program both formally and informally,” he added. “These excursions to world renowned galleries, local New York City gallery exhibitions, and engaging visits with the Silver Art residency artists, enriched our understanding of art in its broader context, inspiring new ideas and sparking insightful discussions.”
Creating opportunities for artists to speak with and learn from industry professionals is a central part of Pratt>Forward. Participants engaged in sessions about copyright law, contract writing, digital representation, e-commerce, finance and accounting, curation, and more.
“Multiple times a week, dialogue sessions were followed by one-on-one studio visits, giving us and our work a tremendous amount of exposure and feedback from a wide range of perspectives,” Kincheloe said. “From meeting artists pioneering new technological platforms to meeting with an arts lawyer for red-line consignment agreements, it all came together as a very complete, compressed curriculum, thoughtfully designed to fully resource us both in a sense of possibility and empowerment and also in breaking down what the practical building of a sustainable art career actually entails and how to protect it.”
The artists each had a dedicated space on the 44th floor of the World Trade Center, which offered sweeping panoramic views. Participants had scheduled studio days during the program, and were also afforded access to the building 24/7 to focus on their work.
In addition to professional development, the program provided participants time to learn from and bond with their fellow Pratt>Forward members. The artists shared methods, techniques, and ideas with each other as they forged connection and community.
“Pratt>Forward provided me with such a unique and grounding experience of how to rethink and establish my core values as an artist, while finding strength in my individual voice to reaffirm agency and advocacy for not only myself, but also my peers,” Fields said. “At times, being an artist can feel super isolating, and having been selected for the program gave me a genuine sense of community and abundance (warmth and love) that I have never really experienced in my career as an artist before.”
Thomas and South were honored as a “Dynamic Duo” at the 2024 Badass Art Woman Awards for their work as co-directors of Pratt>Forward. After three years of developing a structure through Pratt, the program will now complete its planned transition to an independent organization, Art>Forward, under the leadership of Thomas. Pratt will remain a collaborative partner and a number of spaces in future programs will still be filled by Pratt alumni. Work by Pratt>Forward artists will be exhibited in two New York galleries later this year.
“It has been an absolute pleasure and a profoundly enriching experience to work alongside the talented cohorts who participated in the Pratt>Forward program from 2020-2024,” Thomas said. “As this initiative continues to gain momentum, I am thrilled to announce the launch of its next iteration, Art>Forward.”
In thinking about the impact of Pratt>Forward, South said, “Pratt>Forward has been truly transformative—not just for the artists who have participated, but for the broader creative community it has nurtured. It has been incredibly rewarding to watch them grow in confidence, develop sustainable practices, and form lasting bonds. As it transitions to Art>Forward, I’m deeply proud of Pratt’s role in launching a program that will continue to support and uplift the next generation of artists for years to come.”
South also emphasized how the program will continue to shape fine arts education at Pratt. “The innovative mentorship and professional development strategies practiced in Pratt>Forward will inform and strengthen programming within Pratt’s Fine Arts MFA, ensuring that our graduate students benefit from these forward-thinking approaches.”