Photo Flash: Sing for Hope Pianos to Return to NYC This Summer

Sing for Hope is thrilled to announce that the Sing for Hope Pianos will return to New York City for the fourth time in Summer 2015. In partnership with the City of New York and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, this year's program features fifty artist-designed pianos placed throughout the five boroughs from June 5-June 21 for all to enjoy. Scroll down for a look at last year's event!

The Sing for Hope Pianos is a beloved public art installation that brings brightly colored pianos to the parks and public spaces of NYC's five boroughs for anyone and everyone to play. For two weeks this summer, the Sing for Hope Pianos - each a unique art piece created by a different artist or designer - will serve as gathering places in their communities, hosting impromptu concerts by professionals and amateurs alike in an open festival of "art for all" in New York City. After the two-week public exhibition, Sing for Hope will donate the instruments to the under-resourced schools, hospitals, and community centers that the organization serves year-round, allowing the pianos to enrich lives for years to come. While their time on the streets is a joyful event for the city, the Sing for Hope Pianos' true impact lies in their ongoing service as cornerstones of arts access for communities and individuals in need.

"We are delighted to bring back the Sing for Hope Pianos this year," say Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora, Sing for Hope's Co-Founders. "From the South Bronx and the Rockaways to Staten Island and Times Square, the Sing for Hope Pianos have become synonymous with summertime in New York City. It is truly special to witness the spontaneous moments of community and connection that occur around these beautiful, interactive works of art."

The full lineup of 2015 Piano Artists and public locations will be announced later this spring. Artists who have previously donated their time and talent to the Sing for Hope Pianos include fashion designers John Varvatos, Isaac Mizrahi, Kate Spade, and Diane Von Furstenberg; visual artists Julian Schnabel and Scott Taylor; and media mogul Arianna Huffington.

The 2015 Sing for Hope Pianos are being presented against the backdrop of a city in more need than ever for arts outreach programming. In April 2014, Comptroller Scott Stringer's analysis of Education Department data revealed in a "State of the Arts" report that a full 28 percent of city schools lack a full-time certified arts teacher, with 20 percent employing no arts teacher whatsoever - that's one out of five middle and high schools in this cultural capital of the world. Moreover, lack of arts instruction disproportionately impacts low-income neighborhoods: over 42 percent of these under-resourced schools are concentrated in the South Bronx and central Brooklyn.

The need for more arts programming is equally great in the city's healthcare facilities. As Dean for Medical Education at Mount Sinai Medical School Dr. David Muller has stated, "[In} the 21st century, to be a patient is to be oppressed: by illness, by pain and suffering... Sing for Hope brings what I can only describe as enlightened beauty into the lives of patients who are for the most part trapped in the hospital."

These are under-resourced areas and organizations that are reached by The Sing for Hope Pianos and Sing for Hope's roster of volunteer artists who donate their time and talent to the project. In 2013, the last iteration of this beloved public arts initiative, The Sing for Hope Pianos were experienced by an estimated 2 million New Yorkers and visitors to the city.

Funding for the Sing for Hope Pianos is provided in part by Sing for Hope's Founders' Circle, including The Arnhold Foundation in loving memory of Sissy Arnhold, The Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation, and Ann Ziff. Additional funding for the 2015 project is being provided by two crowdsourcing campaigns - Sing for Hope's first-ever Kickstarter and a concurrent crowdsourcing campaign run by The Lulu & Leo Fund - which together have garnered grassroots donations from more than 300 donors across the country.

Sing for Hope transforms lives throughout New York City by making the arts accessible to all. Through the volunteer service of over 1,500 artists-including opera singers, actors, jazz musicians, dancers, puppeteers, visual artists, and more-Sing for Hope brings dynamic arts outreach programming to under-resourced communities throughout NYC, igniting the spark of creative innovation in everyone from hospital patients to elder care residents to students of all ages. Sing for Hope's programs are provided free-of-charge for participants and range from after-school arts classes to collaborative hospital concerts to the flagship public art initiative, The Sing for Hope Pianos. One of the largest installations of its kind, The Sing for Hope Pianos reaches an estimated 2 million New Yorkers and visitors every year. Each Sing for Hope program is defined by the volunteerism of artists, the needs of the community, and the belief in the transformative power of the arts. Founded in 2006, Sing for Hope is a New York City-based registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Photos courtesy of The Sing for Hope Pianos' Photo Of The Day competition. Check out singforhope.org to get involved in the 2015 Sing for Hope Pianos!