Communal Pianos to Return to the Streets of Bristol this Summer
Posted on: 23 Feb 2017Luke Jerram, the man behind the Park Street waterslide, is aiming to bring back a trail of pianos to Bristol’s streets this summer as part of the Play Me, I’m Yours project - but is need of financial support.
There will be dancing in the streets of Bristol this summer with 20 playable pianos arriving back in the city for the first time since 2009. Luke Jerram, the Bristol-born artist responsible for 2014’s Park Street waterslide and the fishing boats in Leigh Woods, is bringing the music back to his hometown as part of his Play Me, I’m Yours project.
The initiative was first introduced in 2008 and has since seen 1,500 pianos played in 50 cities worldwide, and heard by over 10 million people. Jerram is now aiming to bring the fun back to his hometown, which hasn’t had the public piano treatment for eight years. This latest chapter in the project represents the first time that individual pianos are being sponsored.
"The reason it has taken off around the world is because it provides a blank canvas for everybody else to share their creativity and talent with each other," said the artist.
"Bristol is famous for its strong cultural community which is why this project is so ideal for the city. I've been very encouraged by the support we've already received from organisations across city, but we need a few more sponsors to come forward to make the project viable," he added.
As such, Jerram is on the lookout for backers to sponsor their own piano. They will be able to contribute to the decoration of their piano and decide what to do with the instrument after the trail’s end, either to donate it or to keep as a memento.
Anyone interested in sponsoring a piano for the summer should contact Sally Reah at admin@streetpianos.com.
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An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
