Play Me, I’m Yours: New York City Gets Free Pianos in Public Spaces

A new art installation organized by non-profit Sing for Hope has placed 60 pianos in public areas of New York City.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on June 22 2010

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Pianos can make beautiful music, but they’re huge instruments, and most people don’t have the space to store one in their homes. But for the next two weeks, locals and tourists alike in the Big Apple can bang out Chopsticks and Chopin to their hearts’ desire, thanks to a unique art installation.

In the installation, 60 donated pianos were colorfully painted by local artists, then distributed in different spots throughout New York City’s five boroughs, along with benches, songbooks, and signs that read “Play Me, I’m Yours.”

The city-wide event was organized by the non-profit group Sing for Hope, and modeled after a similar event by British artist Luke Jerram, who brought 30 pianos to the streets of London last year.

The pianos, which each have their own attendants to care for them in case of rain and to lock them up at night, have been stationed at a diverse range of locations, including landmarks like the Lincoln Center and the Staten Island ferry as well as more residential areas in the city.

In upcoming days, celebrities including Alicia Keys and baritone Nathan Gunn will give public performances on the street pianos, but virtuosos and amateurs alike are equally welcome to take a turn at the ivories.

“We want communities where the pianos go to feel the pianos are theirs, that you don’t have to take 20 years of lessons,” Sing for Hope’s co-founder, Camille Zamora, told the New York Times. “People are frightened to touch pianos. They don’t want to embarrass themselves.”

After the two-week period, the pianos will be donated to local schools and hospitals. But in the meantime, play away, and fill the city with music.

For a map of the pianos and more photos of people making music on the streets, visit this site.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Non-Profits,

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