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On May 17, 2010, Patti Smith received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Pratt Institute, along with architect Daniel Libeskind, MoMA director Glenn Lowry, former NYC Landmarks Commissioner Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, novelist Jonathan Lethem, and director Steven Soderbergh.

Following the conferral of her degree, Smith delivered the commencement address and sang / played two songs accompanied by long-time band member Lenny Kaye.

In her remarks, Smith explained that in 1967 when she moved to New York City ( Brooklyn ), she would never have been accepted into Pratt, but most of her friends ( including Mapplethorpe ) were students at Pratt and she spent countless hours on the Pratt campus.

She added that it was through her friends and their Pratt professors that she learned much of her own artistic skills, making the honour from the institute particularly poignant for Smith 43 years later.