About

Our Mission:

29 Pieces uses art to awaken, uplift and give voice to the creative human spirit to make genuine, positive social change.

Our Story

The vision for 29 Pieces was born of tragedy. In August 2000, a young man was murdered in front of her home. Karen processed the profound psychic toll of this event by writing and creating art. The result was “One Bullet,” a deeply personal story published in The Dallas Morning News in 2003. Following “One Bullet,” Karen was compelled to do something to uplift children and adults, something to give them the courage and strength to stand against the violence that permeates our culture. In what Karen call her creative “big bang,” a vision emerged: monumental change through monumental art. 29 Pieces was established as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2005 to develop and deliver arts programs to the Dallas-area community.

Who We Are

Board of Directors

Karen Isbell
President

Sondra Cox
Vice-President

Diana O’Connor
Secretary

Karen Blessen
Founder & Artistic Director

Dr. Barbara Miller
Founder

Kelly Nash

Founders

Karen Blessen

29 Pieces founder Karen Blessen was working as an illustrator and writer. She was the first graphic artist to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize (1989). In August, 2000, a young man was murdered in front of her home. Karen was compelled to do something greater to uplift children, to give them the courage and strength to stand against the violence that permeates the culture.   In what Karen call her creative “big bang,” the founding vision of 29 Pieces emerged: monumental change through monumental art.

Dr. Barbara Miller

Co-founder of 29 Pieces, Barbara serves as the Executive Director of Recruitment & Admissions for Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX.  Dr. Miller received her B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, her D.D.S. degree from Baylor College of Dentistry, and her M.S. degree in Oral Biology from Baylor University.  For 8 summers, she studied cultural issues, human rights, ethics, and world religions at Oxford University in England.  She has further training in non-violent communication, cultural competency and diversity issues.

Our Supporters for partnering with us on this journey to use art in unique ways to teach peace, empathy, teamwork, collaboration, and social and emotional learning.

See all of our Sponsors here.

Education

29 Pieces Education: Artists Making a Kinder World is an art-based, hands-on curriculum, developed by 29 Pieces. Teachers confirm that 29 Pieces Education fosters social and emotional learning and essential values like kindness and compassion, as well as important life skills such as conflict resolution and analytical thinking. This curriculum can be applied to teaching social studies, science and other STEM skills.

Read more about 29 Pieces Education…

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29 Pieces Education Videos

RESPECT Pledge
Peacemakers Like You and Me
Teachers Testimonials
TED Talk

Projects

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The American LOVE Project

The American LOVE Project, a 29 Pieces special project, engages schools, organizations, and artists In the United States of America and beyond in the 29 Pieces LOVE Lesson as a positive grassroots response to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol. 3,790 artworks from 25 states, the District of Columbia and four countries are featured on our dedicated website, theamericanloveproject.org, which  serves as an online gallery. 29 Pieces exhibited American LOVE Project art at Dallas Love Field Airport, The American Airlines Center, throughout downtown Dallas, and in schools, community centers and other locations nationwide.

Visit The American LOVE Project Gallery

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The American LOVE Project

The American LOVE Project, a 29 Pieces special project, engages schools, organizations, and artists In the United States of America and beyond in the 29 Pieces LOVE Lesson as a positive grassroots response to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol. 3,790 artworks from 25 states, the District of Columbia…

Visit The American LOVE Project Gallery

Projects

Cool Schools

One of 29 Pieces’ primary focuses in 2020 was the design, production, and installation of art for six public parks located on six Dallas ISD elementary school campuses – a project in partnership with the Trust for Public Land as part of their mission to make greenspace available within a 10 minute walk for all Dallas citizens.

Read More about Cool Schools…

Projects

The Dallas LOVE Project, an extension of the 29 Pieces Education LOVE lesson, is a city-wide art exhibition in which 20,000 people created 10,000 pieces of LOVE art to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. This art was exhibited at 65 venues across Dallas, mostly along the Kennedy motorcade route. Through local, national and international press, 185 million people were exposed to the Dallas LOVE Project.
Read More about Dallas Love Project…

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Projects

The 29 Pieces Sculptures

The 29 Pieces of sculpture, as large as 60 feet tall, will bring to life the inspired messages and sacred words of spiritual visionaries throughout history. These sculptures were created by artist and organizational founder, Karen Blessen. Once created to scale, they will be on permanent exhibition.

Read More about 29 Pieces Sculpture…

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Phone: 214-770-1219 Email: karen@29pieces.org
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 140962 Dallas, TX 75214

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29 Pieces uses art to advance non-violence

EQUITY AND DIVERSITY

29 Pieces is committed to supporting and advocating for the equal rights of all people, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual identification or socioeconomic status.  In all our work as an organization, we use art to awaken, uplift and give voice to the creative human spirit, which we know and proclaim to be in all people.  Our mission as an organization includes people of all backgrounds, as each perspective is essential to our mission to make genuine, positive social change.

Specifically, we work to facilitate and support creative insights that heal and transform, and thus, lead to a more just society that lives up to our constitutionally stated ideals of democracy, freedom and equality. We work to see an end to acts of violence and discrimination against any group or individual and proclaim our commitment to act in solidarity with all groups and individuals who are also working to fulfill equal protection under the law and equal opportunities for all.