Bristol piano art trail to expand this summer

Bristol piano art trail to expand this summer

Posted on: 03 May 2017

Luke Jerram’s outdoor installation Play Me, I’m Yours, which comprises a trail of playable pianos placed around the city, is set to expand into the wider districts of Bristol with the help of a crowdfunding campaign.

Bristol piano trail

In February, we had the news that Luke Jerram, the Bristol-born artist behind such installations as the Park Street water-slide and the fishing boats in Leigh Woods, would be bringing his series Play Me, I’m Yours back to his hometown.

 

The project has seen 1,500 communal pianos placed and played in 50 cities worldwide since its debut in 2008, and will now return to Bristol this summer in its tenth year – thanks to funding from sponsors.

 

 

February’s news acted as a plea of sorts from Jerram to accrue financial support, through the sponsorship of individual pianos. Having met this target, the artist is now seeking to grow the project to include the wider districts of Bristol.

 

Having launched a crowdfunding campaign, Jerram and his team of artists are seeking a further £10,000. This would take the total raised to the £40,000 mark named by Arts Council Bristol, who have promised to match the amount pound for pound if this target is met.

 

“It is fantastic news that we’ve managed to get the project off the ground with the very generous support of sponsors around the city, and we have enough funds for 15 pianos at the moment,” Jerram told Bristol24/7.

Bristol piano trails

“However, our aim is to increase the number of pianos in the trail to enable us to put them in wider districts across the city so that more people and communities can benefit from the project this summer.”

 

“The Arts Council is generously offering £1 for every £1 donated and we just need to raise a further £10,000 from our Crowdfunder to release this match-funding. We’re looking for public donations large and small and are asking people to help make this project work for the wider city.”

 

“Anyone who likes the idea of filling the city’s streets with music this summer can help us reach our target and many of the pianos will end up being donated to community organisations afterwards which will provide a lasting legacy for the project.”

 

If you want to sponsor the campaign, do so at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bristol-street-pianos

If your organisation is interested in sponsoring a piano, contact Sally Reah at admin@streetpianos.com


Article by:

Sam Mason-Jones

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.