Play Me, I’m Yours, the brainchild of artist Luke Jerram, is “a reaction against the deluge of bad permanent public artworks and architectural clutter in UK cities that neither connects with, nor empowers a local community.” Dozens of pianos appear in a city overnight and are placed in completely random public locations; some are in great condition and perfectly tuned, while others look (and sound) like they’ve seen better days. If you live in Sao Paulo, Sydney, or London, perhaps you’ve already come across one.
From Jerram’s artist’s statement:
Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are also aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape. The pianos have also levered many hidden musicians from out of the woodwork. It has become apparent that there are hundreds of pianists out there who don’t have access to a piano to play. ‘Play Me I’m Yours’ provides access to musical instruments and provides musicians an opportunity to share their creativity by performing in public. Like Facebook, “Play Me, I’m Yours” provides an interconnected resource, an empty blank canvas, for the public to express themselves and share their creativity.
What do we have to do to get these to come to New York? It’s so much more fun than CowParade, and if the line we stood in last August to play David Byrne’s building is any indication, there would definitely be an audience for it.
Main image: Flavorpill London contributor Oliver Spall