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 mentors