Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org), a public service organization for artists, announces that it is installing 60 pianos in the parks and public spaces of the city's five boroughs to be available to all who pass by from June 21 to July 5. These "street pianos" are part of Play Me, I'm Yours, a worldwide public art project.
Originated by British artist Luke Jerram, Play Me, I'm Yours is an international artwork and has previously brought music to the streets of London, São Paulo, Bristol, Birmingham, and Sydney in 2009.
"Each piano acts as sculptural, musical, blank canvas that becomes a reflection of the communities it is embedded into," says Jerram. "Play Me, I'm Yours is a provocation, inviting the public to engage with, activate and take ownership of their urban environment."
Opening events will take place on June 21 in conjunction with Make Music New York (www.makemusicny.org), a one-day festival of free concerts in public spaces throughout the city. Closing concerts, organized by Sing for Hope, will take place on July 5. New Yorkers will be invited to post photos and videos of their local Play Me, I'm Yours street pianos on a dedicated website, www.nycstreetpianos.com. The site also features maps with piano locations and other information about the project.
Sing For Hope, an "artists' peace corps," is presenting Play Me I'm Yours to raise awareness of the group's work dismantling barriers to arts accessibility and mobilizing professional artists in volunteer service to benefit schools, hospitals, and communities.
Noted artists and celebrities taking part in Play Me, I'm Yours through public service announcement endorsements and public performances include Alicia Keys, Actress Lauren Ambrose, renowned Baritone Nathan Gunn, Broadway performers Tituss Burgess and Emmy winner Kevin Mambo, the cast of the Tony-winning revival musical HAIR, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"We're so thrilled to welcome Play Me, I'm Yours to New York," says Mayor Bloomberg. "Inventive, community-based programs like this one help to ensure New York's continued creative vitality, and I congratulate everyone involved with Sing for Hope for bringing this inventive and interactive art installation to our City this summer."
"I believe in the creative potential of New York City, and I applaud Sing for Hope for everything it does to develop that potential," says Alicia Keys. "This summer, Sing for Hope will create a beautiful and worthy moment for our city by bringing the Play Me, I'm Yours "street pianos" to our city's parks and public spaces. It's things like this that make me extra proud to be a New Yorker, and the endless possibilities represented in these streets."
Interviews with Luke Jerram and Sing for Hope are available upon request.
About Sing for Hope
"What Sing for Hope does is wonderfully simple. It maintains a roster of compassionate, world-class artists who donate time and talent to the humanitarian causes that inspire them."
- Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Sing for Hope Board Member
Founded by opera singers with a desire to lift their voices for social change, Sing for Hope mobilizes more than 600 world-class artists - from classical musicians to photographers to Broadway performers - who donate time and talent in our volunteer service programs that benefit schools, hospitals and communities. Sing for Hope provides three programs: Art U! (dynamic arts and leadership education for under-resourced youth), Healing Arts (in-hospital performances and workshops that complement the healing process), and Community Arts (events that raise awareness and funds for humanitarian causes, and projects that dismantle barriers to arts accessibility). Each Sing for Hope project is defined by the volunteerism of professional artists and our belief in the transformative power of the arts. Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org) is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
About Luke Jerram
Luke Jerram's an established visual artist from Britain. His multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of live arts projects, sculptures and installations. Luke has been exhibiting his work internationally since 1997 and has created a number of extraordinary art projects which excite and inspire people around him. An overview of his practice including highlights of Play Me, I'm yours can be found at www.lukejerram.com
To see where Play Me, I'm Yours has been presented in the past, visit www.streetpianos.com
