Karen Blessen Oral History

Karen Blessen was the first graphic artist to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. While employed at The Dallas Morning News in 1989, she won in the category of Explanatory Reporting alongside colleagues David Hanners and William Snyder for the story, "Anatomy of an Air Crash: The Final Flight of 50 Sierra Kilo," which was published in the Morning News on February 7, 1988.

In 2005, Blessen founded the Dallas non-profit arts organization 29 Pieces, with the mandate "to break through boundaries to incorporate art in new, thought provoking ways." The "Dallas LOVE Project," to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, featured thousands of original artworks, "inspired by quotes from great peacemakers, poets, artists, and musicians," along the Kennedy motorcade route and across the city of Dallas. The installation began on September 21, 2013, the International Day of Peace, and ran through the anniversary on November 22, 2013. It is considered the largest public art project in Dallas history. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

In addition to this oral history, Karen Blessen co-presented and moderated a Pulitzer Prize centennial program, "Illusion and Disillusion," which featured several Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalists. The full Museum program, which took place at the Texas Theatre on September 21, 2016, may be found here: Illusion & Disillusion: A Panel Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning Photographers (youtube.com). Ms. Blessen also took part in Museum public and educational programming recorded in 2014 and 2015. - Stephen Fagin, Curator