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Piece 10

Between 2018 and 2019, 29 Pieces partnered with the South Dallas Cultural Center to produce its second large-scale sculpture, Piece 10: Souls Hidden.

A young woman stands in front of a chalkboard with notes and holds up an abstract collage with multicolored patterned paper.
While working under the mentorship of 29 Pieces staff and professional artists to create Piece 10, Southeast Dallas students created vibrant collages that influenced the final design of the sculpture. Photo by 29 Pieces.

"Radiant is the world soul, / Full of splendor and beauty, / Full of life, / Of souls hidden ..."

In collaboration with the South Dallas Cultural Center, 29 Pieces brought together a team of 12 Southeast Dallas middle and high school students and six local artists to produce a human-scale glass sculpture called Piece 10: Souls Hidden. It is part of a series of sculptures that inspired 29 Pieces’ name.

The students designed the sculpture under the mentorship of 29 Pieces staff and professional artists, including Darryl Ratcliff, Vicki Meek, Diana Chase, Joe Stokes, Constance White and Karen Blessen.

A group of students gather around a table and use scissors to cut sections out of magazines and multicolored pieces of paper for the collages they're making.
A young man holds a collage with cutout photos of artists and other figures, patterned paper, and the word "Supermen"
Dallas students create collages inspired by the cultural legacies of Harlem Renaissance artists and South Dallas Cultural Center luminaries. Photos by 29 Pieces.

While conceptualizing the piece, students contemplated the cultural legacies of Harlem Renaissance artists and South Dallas Cultural Center luminaries—how their souls may be hidden, but their vitality among us remains very much alive. Their interpretation shines through the colorful patterns in the glass, representing the individuality of each soul.

Joe Stokes looks down while holding part of the Piece 10 sculpture, which is constructed from tall, multicolored glass cylinders aligned in rows. Trees are in the background.
Artist Joe Stokes works on the Piece 10 sculpture in his outdoor workshop. Piece 10 was designed and built by Dallas high school students in collaboration with Stokes and other local artists. Photo by 29 Pieces.
View of the top of Piece 10, which is made of bright red, blue, yellow and green patterned glass cylinders that glint in the sun.
Close up of Piece 10. Photo by 29 Pieces.
The Piece 10 sculpture positioned on a black pedestal against a red wall in a room with an African-style mask and other art in the background.
Piece 10 on display in the lobby of the South Dallas Cultural Center. Photo by 29 Pieces.

Piece 10 symbolizes the mysterious qualities of seen and unseen worlds and is based on Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s poem, “Radiant is the World Soul.”

You can see Piece 10 in the lobby of the South Dallas Cultural Center, where it lives in the Center’s permanent collection.

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