Dallas arts nonprofit showcasing 3,000 pieces of artworks made by students, educators and artists to highlight a unified nation they hope to see on the one-year mark of the 2021 U.S. Capital riots
Media Contacts: Adrienne Hamilton, Nicole Communications
Phone: 214-497-6166; Email: adrienne@nicolecommunications.com
Spanish Inquiries: Mauricio Navarro; navarro@navarrogrp.com
29 Pieces, a Dallas-based arts nonprofit, is launching art exhibits in Dallas and in cities across the country for The American LOVE Project – a positive grassroots response to the divisions in our country, dramatically exemplified by the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol. This project aims to plant a seed in each participant – a seed bearing possibilities of LOVE and compassion necessary to the work of repairing social wounds and divisions.
Starting January 6, 2022, LOVE artwork will be available to view at key exhibit locations throughout Dallas and across the U.S. for the public to view at no cost. 29 Pieces worked with students, educators and artists in 24 states, the District of Columbia and four countries outside the U.S. who created artwork and submitted it to the nonprofit organization.
More than 3,000 works of art from across the nation were submitted for The American LOVE Project. Participants include the District of Columbia Public School District, Atlanta Public Schools, Grand Prairie ISD, Dallas ISD, schools in Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Kentucky and more. These earnest expressions of hope for our country can be viewed on the dedicated project website.
It’s been an eye-opening and hopeful experience to work with people of all ages and backgrounds across the country on this project and get their heartfelt expressions of love, unity and healing. We hope everyone will take the time to experience inspiration and healing through the children’s voices and their art.”
Karen Blessen, Founder and Artistic Director of 29 Pieces, Executive Director of The American LOVE Project
IN-PERSON EXHIBIT LOCATIONS & ONLINE GALLERIES
· Dallas Love Field Airport (January 6 through April 2022) – Project installation near the baggage claim includes art from across the U.S. The Performance Stage LED will also feature a rotation of LOVE art. Pending plans include LOVE art sticker distributions to be held during the week of Valentine’s Day (week of Random Acts of Love).
· Downtown Dallas near Main Street/Akard (January 6 through mid-February 2022) – One 80 ft by 12 ft installation will decorate the facade of the previous Iron Cactus restaurant location with a print installation that will showcase more than 150 pieces of collected art. With the help of Downtown Dallas Inc. and Thomas Printworks, 29 Pieces will install outdoor LOVE exhibits of The American LOVE Project on walls, doors and windows at the intersection of Main and Akard which is the location of a tragic chapter in Dallas history. 29 Pieces hopes to bring the creative energy of art, love, and compassion to this place.
· American Airlines Center (January 6 – February 17) –LOVE Project art will be featured on AAC electronic board and giant LED Board at the Plaza Entrance for two months which will highlight more than 300 pieces in 28 one-minute video presentations. The Platinum Level will also showcase high-resolution reprints of the collected art for the viewing pleasure of thousands of AAC guests.
· District of Columbia Public School online exhibit (January 6 through April 2022) – https://www.artsdcps.com/loveproject
· The American LOVE Project Online Gallery - https://www.theamericanloveproject.org/
“LOVE” PROJECT INTERVIEWS & ART COMPETITION
In addition to the in-person exhibits on dedicated online art gallery, 29 Pieces will launch online interviews starting Thursday, January 6, 2022, with teachers and artists from Washington DC, Atlanta, Minnesota, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Nebraska, New York, Kentucky and Kansas. All interviews (live and non-live) will be featured on 29 Pieces’ Facebook page for the public and media to view.
Also on Thursday, January 6, 2022, 29 Pieces will announce finalists in The American LOVE Project art competition in which people can vote online for their favorite pieces. Winners will receive a cash award and their art will be featured on a 29 Pieces unique product in the organization’s online gift shop.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
This noble project is based on the model originally conceived in 2013, when 29 Pieces launched the Dallas LOVE Project to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy, calling Dallas to its better angels after the tragic event in 1963 garnered for Dallas the tragic moniker, “City of Hate.”
In a similar way, 29 Pieces now scales the model to embrace all of the United States using messages of LOVE to call the nation to acts of humanity and compassion - healing the politics of violent division, which came dramatically to light on January 6, 2021, with the storming of our nation’s Capital. The inspired art will send a LOVE message to the world and become a counterpoint to the pervasive images of hatred and violence that we see day in and day out.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
· Create – complete the LOVE Project and other 29 Pieces lessons in your community and schools (free bilingual curriculum available at artistsmakingakinderworld.org)
· Exhibit – display and promote art from The American LOVE Project in your school and community
· Donate – contribute to The American LOVE Project, produced by 29 Pieces
For more information about The American LOVE Project, visit theamericanloveproject.org. Key partners include: Two major anonymous donors, Region 10 Education Service Center, Love Field Airport, the American Airlines Center, Downtown Dallas Inc., The Rachel B. Williams Foundation, Christy Williams, Jane Johnson, Greg Colgan, The Randolph Querbes Terrell Charitable Trust, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, many individual donors, along with generous in-kind donations.
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About The American LOVE Project
The American LOVE Project aims to engage schools, organizations and artists nationwide in the 29 Pieces American LOVE Project Lesson as a positive grassroots response to the hatred and divisions in our country. The artwork is featured on the project’s dedicated website as an online map and gallery, and the nonprofit organization plans to exhibit student LOVE artwork across the country. 29 Pieces is utilizing messages of LOVE to call the nation to acts of humanity and compassion, and healing the politics of violent division. Learn more at theamericanloveproject.org.
About 29 Pieces
29 Pieces is a 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit based in Dallas, TX. Since 2005, 29 Pieces has served more than 160,000 students and trained 1,000 teachers through our original arts education program, Artists Making a Kinder World. We have installed two major public sculptures – Piece 24 and Piece 10 – based on our founding vision to create 29 public sculptures embodying values supporting civic peace. We have mounted three major art-based civic campaigns – the Dallas LOVE Project, the RESPECT Project, and Dallas Teachers Speak (and coordinating campaign, Dallas Students Speak). We’ve partnered with the Trust for Public Land to connect people with nature and create art in new community parks. In all that we do, our mission is to “use art to awaken, uplift, and give voice to the creative human spirit to make genuine, positive social change.” For more information, visit www.29pieces.org.