Play Me Again Pianos Debuts New Public Piano at Ponce City Market, Their 29th Piano in the Atlanta Metro Area

Play Me Again Pianos, a Georgia nonprofit charity, is working to install and permanently maintain 88 free public pianos throughout the Atlanta Metropolitan area.

By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 09, 2024

Play Me Again Pianos Debuts New Public Piano at Ponce City Market, Their 29th Piano in the Atlanta Metro Area Image

Play Me Again Pianos will launch its newest public piano at the nationally acclaimed mixed use community hub, Ponce City Market, on Saturday, February 17th, at 4 pm. The event is free and open to the public and everyone is encouraged to play the piano named “Lin” after the ceremony.

Play Me Again Pianos, a Georgia nonprofit charity, is working to install and permanently maintain 88 free public pianos throughout the Atlanta Metropolitan area for the community to play and enjoy year round.

“Public pianos inspire people to connect with each other in ways that were once common, but seem increasingly rare,” said Jason Brett, co-founder of Play Me Again Pianos. “By adding our pianos to the landscape throughout the metropolitan area, we hope to nurture that connection into an evolution of Atlanta's culture, community and the arts.”

The painted piano named “Lin” will live in the ‘Trestle', the breezeway near the bike valet at Ponce City Market. She was designed and painted with a stunningly beautiful peony theme. “Lin” replaces “Cornelius” who was placed at PCM in 2017.

This newest piano was designed and painted by Andrew Blooms of Atlanta, GA. Blooms is a fine artist, tattooer, designer, musician, and is the owner of Blooms Emporium, located inside Citizen Supply, an artisan marketplace at Ponce City Market. "Lin is actually named after my mother,” said Blooms. “She has been such a support during this time of my life, and I wanted to thank her by dedicating this piano to her.” His goal is to inspire his community to think outside the box, and to place a higher value on art and the process of creativity as a way of life.

Prestige Level sponsorship for the piano was donated by Atlanta native, Benjamin Barnes. “I love playing public pianos and am always looking for them when I travel,” shared Barnes, “so I was really excited to learn about this project.” Prestige Level sponsorship covers the moving and installation costs for the piano, tuning and maintenance costs for over a year, and decommission costs when the piano is no longer repairable.

You can find other pianos installed by Play Me Again Pianos at Atlantic Station, the Chastain Arts Center, and the Woodruff Arts Center as well as in Chamblee, East Cobb, Roswell, Alpharetta and the Serenbe Art Farm Community.

With the increasing rarity of home pianos, public access to them uplifts the entire community, but donations to charities for non-essential services have been crushingly low since the pandemic. Contributions right now can make the difference between a charity surviving or closing its doors. If you love the thought of having pianos available to the public in your city, please donate today, while it's on your mind. It's never been needed more. For information about volunteer opportunities, the impact of Play Me Again Pianos, and a link to donate, visit www.PlayMeAgainPianos.org.

Andrew Blooms

Andrew Blooms is a fine artist, tattooer, designer and musician from Atlanta, GA. Blooms' artworks draw inspiration from traditional Asian painting, printmaking, and tattoos and hopes to reinterpret these traditional values through the lens of contemporary art. In 2023, Andrew opened his first retail and studio concept, “Blooms Emporium” in downtown Atlanta, where one can find a collection of his original artworks, prints and apparel. On the weekends, he teaches art classes, where people from all backgrounds can come and learn the basics of creating their own traditional Asian art pieces. Through these efforts, Blooms' goal is to inspire his community to think outside the box, and to place a higher value on art and the process of creativity as a way of life. In many ways, Andrew processes his own challenges and experiences he goes through in life through his artwork, aiming to find the beauty and light of life through painting, tattooing and creating experiences for the world to enjoy. You can find Andrew painting in his private studio in Castleberry Hill or at his store, Blooms Emporium, downtown, where you might find him painting live, teaching a class, or talking to his guests about the artworks he is creating. Blooms' slogan, “always remember me, OK?” is a reminder to always remember the purpose of life itself and to keep in mind the golden thread that makes all of life worthwhile: love. For more information go to www.AndrewBlooms.com.

Ponce City Market

Developed by real estate investment and management firm Jamestown, Ponce City Market is a historic, mixed-use community hub featuring local and world-class food and retail, residential lofts and office space. With ample public green space and a pedestrian network directly linked to the Atlanta BeltLine corridor, Ponce City Market is a landmark in Atlanta's skyline and an iconic destination for visitors and neighbors alike. At its core is a buzzing indoor/outdoor Central Food Hall

featuring restaurants and food stalls, from emerging local food concepts to James Beard award-winning and -nominated chefs. The community hub's diverse retail offerings include a mix of national brands like Anthropologie, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, and J. Crew as well as local Atlanta-based shops like Modern Mystic, The Village Retail, Rhen's Nest Toy Shop, and more. When construction on the next phase of development is complete, Ponce City Market will include five buildings offering more than 700,000 square feet of office space, 350,000 square feet of retail space, and over 800 residential and hospitality living units. For more information, please visit www.PonceCityMarket.com; www.Next.PonceCityMarket.com.