NBC 5 DFW2021
It's been said that art is a window to the soul. It helps the artist express themselves while helping them to better understand the world around them, especially when that world feels upside down.
On one of the final days before students at Dallas ISD’s Conrad High School returned to its halls, teachers gathered in the cafeteria to create, each completing a piece of art.
The Dallas Morning News2021
It was early 2013, and the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy brought back horrific memories for Dallas, including the label “City of Hate.”
Artist Karen Blessen and her team at the 29 Pieces nonprofit wanted the country to know how much more Dallas was capable of, so they launched the Dallas Love Project.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln2021
School of Art, Art History & Design alumna Karen Blessen’s 29 Pieces organization is launching The American LOVE Project.
Blessen (B.F.A. 1973) is the executive artistic director and founder of 29 Pieces, which was established in 2005 to develop and deliver arts programs to the Dallas-area community. It uses art to awaken, uplift and give voice to the creative human spirit to make genuine, positive social change.
Voyage Dallas2018
Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Blessen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Karen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Karen Blessen is a Pulitzer Prize winning artist and the Founder & Executive Artistic Director of 29 Pieces, an arts organization with a mission to teach kindness.
KERA News2017
On an Oak Cliff boulevard near the iconic Texas Theatre stands a colorful tree-trunk-like structure with a hand on top. The 17-and-a-half-foot sculpture’s only been there a few weeks and was officially dedicated in December.
The tall mosaic art work peers out over West Jefferson Boulevard, thanks to an eye in the palm of its hand. At the base of the sculpture, tiles spell “My hands respect the things you have made,” and it all grew from ideas by two dozen high schoolers from Adamson, Sunset, and Booker T. Washington, among others.
The Dallas Morning News2016
Six award-winning photographers, who collectively have captured the Pulitzer Prize eight times, sat in a circle on the stage of the Texas Theatre. That alone offered its own chilling irony, since Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested while sitting in the same theater more than half a century ago.
Bob Jackson was among the photojournalists sitting onstage. Two days after Oswald's arrest, Jackson took one of history's most compelling photographs. It shows Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby firing a fatal shot into Oswald's abdomen, snuffing out the life of the only suspect in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Oak Cliff Advocate2016
Now a few neighborhood nonprofits have the opportunity to expand their artistic endeavors, thanks to grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Local organization 29 Pieces, which utilizes art programs to promote social change, received two grants from the commission. A $1,500 grant will help fund a festival held to unveil the Piece 24 sculpture, completed by local high school students. An additional $1,000 grant will fund a project in which professional artists and at-risk teens will team up to create three sculptures.
D Magazine2016
It would be impossible to quantify the physical, emotional, and financial toll of a violent crime on a family, a community, and a nation, yet Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator Karen Blessen set out to do that after a 26-year-old man was murdered in front of her home in Lakewood more than 15 years ago.
The ordeal took an enormous toll on her. In trying to process it, she spent three years interviewing the victim’s friends and family, the perpetrator and his family, the homicide detective, and others involved, and eventually she wrote an editorial called “One Bullet” for the Dallas Morning News.
The Dallas Morning News2016
Oak Cliff will soon be the home of a towering mosaic sculpture, and students from the surrounding neighborhood are the artists.
“Just as Philadelphia is known as the city of murals, wouldn’t it be great for Dallas to be known as the city of sculpture?” asked artist Karen Blessen.
The sculpture, known as Piece 24, is the first public art project of 29 Pieces, a nonprofit group that seeks to fill the city with sculpture.
Dallas Observer2015
Oak Cliff will soon be the home of a towering mosaic sculpture, and students from the surrounding neighborhood are the artists.
“Just as Philadelphia is known as the city of murals, wouldn’t it be great for Dallas to be known as the city of sculpture?” asked artist Karen Blessen.
The sculpture, known as Piece 24, is the first public art project of 29 Pieces, a nonprofit group that seeks to fill the city with sculpture.
Oak Cliff Advocate2015
Almost 50 Oak Cliff high school students applied for 24 slots to work on a project with artist Karen Blessen.
How do you make sure a teenager really wants the job?
Ask them to show up for an 8 a.m. interview on a Saturday. That’s one way Blessen’s nonprofit arts organization 29 Pieces did it.
CW33 (KDAF)2015
DALLAS — This Valentine’s Day, love didn’t come in a heart-shaped box, in a vase; nor did it come printed on a card.
On this day reserved for romance and reflections of emotion – love was found expressed in art.
“I chose to do a dove because I knew everyone else would do hearts,” artist Christina Brown said. “So, I wanted to be different and do a dove because it’s also a symbol of love.”
Metro2013
Texas, November 1963. Fifty years ago this week, US president John F Kennedy arrived for a tour of the Lone Star State, with planned stops in San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin. He never made it to Austin.
On November 22, as his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, three bullets spat out of a sixth-floor window and changed the course of history. Those bullets echoed across the packed square and subsequently the planet.
KERA News2013
Throughout November, KERA will mark the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination by taking a closer look at that fateful day, what it meant to the country, how it changed Dallas, and more.
Today, we take a look at a citywide effort to turn the ‘City of Hate’ into the ‘City of Love’ through art. KERA’s Jerome Weeks has the story:
Almost immediately after President Kennedy was shot in Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas was labeled the City of Hate.
The label stuck.
Culture Map Dallas2013
A big deal was made recently about Nasher Xchange, Nasher Sculpture Center's public art program going on now through February 2014. But perhaps overshadowed by that was the Dallas LOVE Project, a city-wide exhibition designed to honor the memory of President John F. Kennedy leading up to the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
The exhibition, which ends on Friday, November 22, was conceived by 29 Pieces, a local nonprofit that uses art to enact social change. To counteract the label of "City of Hate" that was given to Dallas following the assassination, they invited anyone — artist or not — to create 18-by-18 pieces of art that incorporated a quote about love from famous peacemakers, artists, musicians or writers.
The Wall Street Journal2013
DALLAS—After John F. Kennedy was assassinated here on Nov. 22, 1963, it took years for this metropolis to shake its stigma as the "City of Hate," with many people blaming its virulent anti-Kennedy sentiment as the cause.
So as Dallas approaches the 50th anniversary of the president's assassination next month, and international attention turns again to the city's darkest hour, civic groups and institutions are determined to present Dallas in a more positive light. They are planning myriad lectures, programs and symposiums to discuss seemingly every aspect of the assassination—and demonstrate that Dallas, criticized in the past for minimizing the Kennedy assassination, has come to grips with what happened.
NBC 5 DFW2013
About 30,000 works of art reflecting on love will be displayed throughout Dallas this fall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
On Saturday, volunteers with the nonprofit art organization 29 Pieces began displaying the works as part of its Dallas LOVE Project. Over several weeks, the 18-inch-by-18-inch art pieces created by everyone from schoolchildren to business people will line the route taken by the Kennedy motorcade on the afternoon of his assassination, along with other locations such as Parkland Memorial Hospital where Kennedy was taken after being shot.
The Dallas Morning News2013
Peace and love came together in Dallas on Saturday.
On International Day of Peace, volunteers for the Dallas Love Project started installing inspirational posters across the city. To kick off the project, they decorated more than 10 locations, including Parkland Memorial Hospital and the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. In all, the city will be blanketed with more than 30,000 posters.
The goal is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy by painting Dallas in a new light.
The Associated Press2013
DALLAS (AP) — About 30,000 works of art reflecting on love will be displayed throughout Dallas to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as his motorcade passed through downtown.
On Saturday, volunteers with the nonprofit art organization 29 Pieces began displaying the works as part of its Dallas LOVE Project, intended to show that Dallas — branded the “City of Hate” after the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination — is a place where love thrives. Several incidents before the assassination — including the distribution of fliers in the form of a “Wanted” poster with mug shot-style photos of the president —resulted in anger turning toward the city itself.
Dallas Observer2013
You need to get your art hat out tonight and head over to Deep Ellum Brewing Co. for craft beer and Crazy Pig, cuisine all in the name of sprucing up Dallas with unconditional love.
The goal of the Dallas Love Project is to create 20,000 pieces of art that represent unconditional love. It's all part of a campaign to commemorate JFK's legacy leading up to the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
D Magazine2013
Also mentioned in that AP story from the weekend about the JFK legacy in Dallas is an effort by a nonprofit called 29 Pieces to encourage to spur the creation of 20,000 pieces of art about love to be displayed in the city beginning Sept. 21 (the International Day of Peace) through the 50th anniversary of the assassination, Nov. 22.
It’s called the Dallas Love Project The group is working with other arts organizations and schools to reach its goal. If you’d like to get involved, visit the website.
The Dallas Morning News2013
Love is in the air.
And if the creative forces behind the Dallas LOVE Project have their way, it soon will be plastered on windows and walls throughout the city.
“After President Kennedy was assassinated here on Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas was labeled by some as a ‘City of Hate,’” said Karen Blessen, the project’s executive director. “We want to use art to show that love lives in Dallas."
People Newspapers2012
Bright and early this morning, during the Dallas City Council’s open microphone session, students from Parish Episcopal School presented a homelessness art project to councilmembers.
The project is part of 29 Pieces, a Dallas-based arts non-profit organization focused on the creation of monumental change through monumental art. The group includes students from Parish, Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, and Maya Angelou High School. The students presented large murals and posters to the council, answering the question, “If you were a great peacemaker like Ghandi, Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King, what would you do about homelessness?"
If you happen to be downtown, the project will be on display in the first floor of the downtown branch of the Dallas Public Library later today.
The Dallas Morning News2012
Ask any student from kindergarten through college about Willie Velásquez, and you’ll probably get a blank stare.
A new generation of Latinos knows nothing about the man who had a historic impact on Latino political participation in the U.S. The San Antonio native, who died in 1988, founded the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the nation’s largest Latino nonpartisan voter participation group.
Former Dallas resident Barbara Renaud González and a team of artists and high-tech consultants are working on an interactive pop-up children’s book to change that. She’s asking for donations from around the state to be able to debut the project Sept. 16 in San Antonio.
Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate2011
At L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School, teachers Victor Chacon and Tammy Fieldsmith teach 2nd-5th graders, and almost all of them are refugees from war-torn or politically unstable nations.
Most of the students, from Nepal, Thailand, Burma, Egypt, Liberia, Togo, Iraq and other places around the world, are learning English. And thanks to East Dallas-based nonprofit Today Marks the Beginning, they are learning about peace.
Preston Hollow Advocate2011
Find some peace and love through children’s art on display now through Feb. 21 at Neiman Marcus inside NorthPark Center. Dallas-area students participated in a competition through Today Marks the Beginning, a nonprofit organization that uses art to raise awareness about social issues. The exhibit features art related to the theme of love. The contest involved more than 400 students from Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary and Parish Episcopal School. Ten winners from each school were chosen to show their work.
Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate2011
“Who Are You?”, a masquerade ball at Life in Deep Ellum Saturday, Jan. 29, will help Pulitzer Prize winning graphic designer and artist Karen Blessen put on a new exhibit, “29 Pieces”.
The event features music from Ishi, the Gritz (Erykah Badu’s backing band), Hello Lover, Able Youth and DJ B3. Tickets are $25.
Dallas Observer2010
Last week, we announced the finalists for the MasterMinds Competiton (read the full bio on the artists here), and this week our cover story breaks down the winners. Read the full writeup on the MasterMinds of Dallas in our cover story: MasterMinds: Matthew Posey, Joel Hester and Karen Blessen Are Winners in Our Inaugural Creativity Awards
Dallas Observer2010
Artists will make art even if they don't make money. With a few dollars, however, they can make more art, bigger art and even take some time to teach others how to make art. For our first MasterMinds competition, which awards three grants of $2,000 to local artists, we were hoping to find among the nominations a good sampling of Dallas art-makers from a variety of media.
What we got was a crazy-great list of more than 70 nominees, many of them submitted not by the artists themselves but by patrons and friends who wanted them to get some overdue recognition (not to mention some no-strings-attached cash).
Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate2010
Much-decorated neighborhood artist Karen Blessen achieved a rarity this week — she’s featured in a front-page story in the Dallas Observer, and the newspaper isn’t making fun of her or trying to put her in jail. Instead, the Observer awarded Blessen and two other Dallas artists a $2,000 “Master Mind” grant for her work bringing art to children in area schools.
Blessen, who won a Pulitzer Prize while working with the Morning News and who won a Katie Award for us here at the Advocate for a cover she did in October 2007 illustrating our Trinity Tollroad story, operates a non-profit called Today Marks the Beginning that promotes peace through art. One of her projects teaches kids about historical figures who promoted peace by helping them make artwork using common household items like macaroni, buttons, etc.
Dallas Observer2010
Times are tough all around, and especially for artists. Grant money is scarce and patron support isn't what it was during boom times.
Why not offer Dallas artists and creative entrepreneurs a shot at some money and a bit of buzz-generating publicity? Dallas Observer's first MasterMinds competition, launched in September, is doing just that by awarding no-strings-attached prizes of $2,000 to each of three local artists working in a variety of media—visual arts, performance, video, film and arts advocacy. The goal: To honor cultural innovators with funds to do with as they choose, whether it's seed money for a new project or just to pay rent. OK, it's not a MacArthur Genius Grant. At least not yet. But we hope the money will allow the winners a little breathing room on their bills, or even inspire them to help out a fellow artist in need. (This year's winners will participate in choosing next year's prize recipients.)
D Magazine2010
When the art, t-shirts, tickets, etc. were auctioned, sold, and accounted for, the annual Art Conspiracy charitable event raised $30,000, which will be donated to Today Marks the Beginning, a non-profit that promotes peace through the arts. The organization says it will use the grant to help fund its “MasterPEACE: Young Artists Making A Kinder World” program, which offers social awareness and non-violence programs to children. The gift brings the total dollar amount of money raised by Art Con since it was conceived in 2005 to $110,000. A full release is after the jump. Below, video hightlights from the event.
“All of us in Today Marks the Beginning are ecstatic about the news that we will receive a check for $30,000 from Art Conspiracy! This is the largest single donation that we have received in the history of our organization,” says Karen Blessen, co-founder, Today Marks the Beginning.
Blessen went on to say, “This money will allow us to bring our MasterPEACE programming to hundreds of Dallas children, and we are incredibly grateful for that. Additionally, I am left with an enormous optimism about the combined power of positive creativity and community. Major kudos and hats off to Art Conspiracy, all the contributing artists, and the volunteers!”
Oak Cliff Advocate2010
THIS MONTH, [...] PARTY IT UP …
… during Art Conspiracy 6, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in a warehouse at 511 W. Commerce. The event this year benefits Today Marks the Beginning, a nonprofit that uses art to teach children about non-violence. The event will feature performances from Ishi, Seryn and Dem Southernfolkz, plus work from 150 local artists. Tickets are $10, and opening bids for artwork are $20. More information is available at artconspiracy.org.
Dallas Observer2010
The October [Art Conspiracy] event, as always, will serve as a fund-raiser for a local Good Cause; this year, Weinberg says, ArtCon's beneficiary is Today Marks the Beginning, which "uses art to make peace."
Art+Seek2010
Whoa! Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we were handing out glitter glue and construction paper at the Art&Seek booth at Art Conspiracy. But it’s time to start gearing up again for the next installment of the giant art auction/concert/hoo-haw that raises money for local arts-related programs.
First up is this year’s installment of SEED. It’s coming July 16 at Sons of Hermann Hall. To refresh your memory, at SEED, artists have their way with a single object (last year it was coffee cans, this year it’s clocks) and you can bid on the results. Bidding starts at $20. The money raised goes to pay for the main ArtCon event this fall. Which, this year, will raise money for Today Marks the Beginning.