71st Parsons Benefit: Pharrell Williams | Parsons School of Design

The 71st Parsons Benefit will take place on May 20, 2019 at Pier Sixty. Through design and performance, students from Parsons (http://newschool.edu/parsons) and the College of Performing Arts (http://newschool.edu/performing-arts) will collaborate to show the impact of scholars, artists, and designers coming together to challenge convention and create positive change. School of Fashion | http://newschool.edu/parsons/fashion Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. He has been a creative force in the music industry and beyond for more than two decades. Over the years, Pharrell has been honored with 13 Grammy Awards, including 2004’s, 2014’s and 2019’s Producer of the Year, and ASCAP’s prestigious Golden Note Award in 2012. In 2017, he received an Academy Award nomination for co-producing Best Picture-nominated Hidden Figures (2016), as well as a Golden Globe nomination for co-scoring the film. In 2014, his original song “Happy,” featured in Despicable Me 2, also received an Academy Award nomination. In 2008, Pharrell founded From One Hand To AnOTHER (FOHTA), a foundation that provides over 1,700 children across the US with summer camps focused on S.T.E.A.M.M. – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Motivation. Serving predominantly at-risk and low-income elementary and middle school students, FOHTA’s Summer of Innovation camps integrate project-based learning and mentorship across all of their curricula—all while being 100% free of charge for the families. Pharrell is also the driving force behind i am OTHER, his multimedia creative collective that serves as the umbrella for his various artistic interests. In addition to his musical and philanthropic endeavors, Pharrell narrated Universal’s 2018 remake of the classic film THE GRINCH, authored the book A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, and released a new Netflix Original series with his producing partner, Mimi Valdés, titled Brainchild (2018). Past projects include Dope (2015) and Roxanne Roxanne (2017). Next up, Williams and Valdés will team up with Kenya Barris for a stage musical inspired by the Juneteenth African American holiday tradition celebrating the final day of United States slavery. Not stopping there, Pharrell has excelled as a fashion designer with his Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream apparel brands, the textile company Bionic Yarn, Adidas and Chanel. This past fall, he opened a restaurant and cocktail lounge called Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami’s Design District. This April, Pharrell will launch his first annual music, art and cultural festival in his hometown of Virginia Beach titled, “SOMETHING IN THE WATER.” The festival will feature artists such as Travis Scott, Migos, Janelle Monáe, SZA, Rosalía, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Jhené Aiko, Mac DeMarco, Maggie Rogers, and Lil Uzi Vert, as well as Virginia’s own Missy Elliott, Pusha-T, Dave Matthews Band, and DRAM. THE NEW SCHOOL | http://newschool.edu Monday, May 20, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers