QUEENS — Forest Hills residents will soon be able to channel their inner Chopin by playing a piano, which will be placed in a local park for three weeks as part of a citywide program bringing art projects to public spaces.
The instrument will be installed in Yellowstone Park on Monday and will remain there until June 25 through the Sing for Hope program, which "places artist-designed pianos throughout NYC’s parks and public spaces for anyone and everyone to play," the nonprofit wrote on its website.
Painted black and white by Sashalynillo, a Latin American illustrator and street artist living in The Bronx, the piano headed for Forest Hills depicts sketches of New Yorkers the artist encountered on the subway and while walking around the city.
“The piano will be available to all who stop by — filling the park with music,” said Alexa Weitzman, founder of the Yellowstone Park Alliance, a group of volunteers working to improve the green space.
"The great thing about this beautiful piano is that it is a way to get piano keys in the hands of the whole community,” Weitzman added. “For some young kids, this will be their first exposure to a piano, for some others, they might not have a space for a piano.”
The instrument will only be covered at nights and during rainy weather and residents can schedule their own performances on the Sing for Hope website, the organizers said.
Weitzman said her group is also hoping “to have a few informal concerts with local community members performing, and we're looking for amateur players of all levels."
Sashalynillo herself will also visit the park for an art event which has not been scheduled yet, Weitzman said Thursday.
“But the idea is to get the community together for a massive life-drawing/sketching event" followed by a picnic, where people could eat, chat and share their work, Weitzman said.
The piano, one of 60 that will be placed in various city parks and public spaces this year, will later be donated to a public school, which will become its permanent home, the organizers said.
The Sing for Hope Pianos program, in its 10th year, impacts more than two million people a year, according to the organization's website.
This year, the instruments will also be installed in Greenwich Village on the corner of Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue, in the Financial District at the south side of the 25 Broad St. and on the Upper West Side at Columbus Avenue and 62nd Street, among other places.
To see the map showing locations of all Sing for Hope pianos this year go here.
Those interested in participating in events in Yellowstone Park should contact the Yellowstone Park Alliance via PM on their Facebook page.
