Sandra Bloodworth trekked from the hills of Tallahatchie County to the heights of the New York City art scene, and she now has a prestigious new award to commemorate her decades-long journey.
On Nov. 12, Bloodworth was one of three recipients of the 2024 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal, the highest honor bestowed by The Municipal Art Society of New York.
An inscription on the rear of the medal presented to Bloodworth reads, “In recognition of your visionary contributions to the life and imagination of New York City.”
Sandra Bloodworth’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal rests in its wooden presentation case. (Photo courtesy Sandra Bloodworth)
Yoko Ono and Patti Smith were other 2024 recipients of the medal.
According to the Municipal Art Society’s website, the medal is awarded “to individuals who, through vision, leadership, and philanthropy, have made an extraordinary contribution to New York City. The award was established in 1994 to honor Mrs. Kennedy Onassis and her passionate efforts to preserve great architecture in New York City.”
Sandra Gail Bloodworth, daughter of the late Deward Bloodworth and Pauline Early Bloodworth of near Charleston and a 1968 graduate of East Tallahatchie High School, was awarded the medal for her more than three decades of work bringing a world-renowned artistic flair to the public transportation system of New York.
An artist in her own right, in September, Bloodworth retired after 28 years as director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arts & Design, previously known as the MTA’s Arts for Transit program. She had worked with Arts for Transit about eight years prior to being named its director.
Bloodworth is recognized for commissioning more than 370 permanent works of art for installation in the New York City transit system, particularly the subway system.
She said receiving the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal “exceeds my wildest dreams,” adding that it is “a testament to the power of art, in New York, and for me personally.”
Bloodworth’s late mother told The Sun-Sentinel during a 1992 interview that she first noticed her daughter’s flair for art when she was in the second grade.
In addition to a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi College, Bloodworth holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University.
“My parents supported their children’s dreams – mine a passion for art,” said Bloodworth. “But I had no idea where it would take me and I never dreamed it would bring me to a place where I would be recognized for my contributions to the ‘life and imagination of New York City.’”
Bloodworth said she was joined at the recent award ceremony by her husband, Fred May, son Carl May and his wife, Maria Clayton.
“My nephew and niece, Ward and Lauren Bloodworth, traveled from Mississippi to be part of the award presentation and Gala at Cipriani South Street, the historic Battery Maritime Building,” she added. “It was more than I could have dreamed, to receive this prestigious award surrounded by family and friends.”
From left, Ward Bloodworth, Lauren Bloodworth, Sandra Bloodworth, Fred May, Carl May and Marla Clayton pause for a photo while attending The Municipal Art Society of New York’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Celebration, where Sandra Bloodworth was honored. (Karen Seifert Photography)
As principal of Bloodworth Arts International, a public art consultancy established to help public agencies, developers and planners around the world improve the public environment, Bloodworth advises on all aspects of public art, BAI's website notes.
An album of photographs from the recent Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Celebration is available for viewing here.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a press release about Bloodworth's honor. The press release revealed much more about Bloodworth's storied career with MTA, which is North America’s largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State and Connecticut.
Bloodworth is also a 2015 recipient of the Artists’ Fellowship Inc. Gari Melchers Memorial Medal for furthering the interest of the profession of the fine arts, the American Institute of Architects’ George S. Lewis Award for helping to make New York City a better place to live and practice, and the 2005 Alfred Sloan Award for Public Service.
