Karen Blessen – A Lesson for Peace – TEDxSMU 2011
Karen Blessen is the President and Founder of 29 Pieces, a non-profit organization which is about monumental art and monumental change. It is art with a purpose — to uplift, teach and heal. The 29 Pieces refer to 29 large sculptures, inspired by sacred passages from the world’s faith traditions. Currently these exist as drawings and models made by Karen, an accomplished professional artist whose creations grace public spaces like Times Square NYC and the Baylor DART Station in Dallas, and whose illustrations resulted in the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a graphic artist. Karen is also the Program Manager for MasterPEACE: Young Artists Making a Kinder World, and, with assistance from many talented artists and educators, developed and implemented an in-school, hands-on program using art to teach about peacemaking and nonviolence. Now in its fourth year, the 14-lesson program of 29 Pieces has been taught to more than 2,500 Dallas students. The 29 Pieces sculptures, and the stories behind them, are the basis for exhibits, performances and workshops that uplift and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds.