For Immediate Release
Contact:
Matt Wilson, Executive Director, MASSCreative
617-515-2326
[email protected]
State [Representative/Senator last name] Joins [city/town] Resident [name] to Celebrate the Arts at the Massachusetts State House
The Public Art Installation Street Pianos Boston Engages Individuals and the Community in the Arts
[Date], [city/town], MA – [city/town] resident [name] met up with State [Representative/Senator name] at the State House in Boston on [date], 2016 to play the piano and celebrate the role of arts and culture in the Commonwealth.
The piano, located in Ashburton Park outside the State House, is part of the public art installation Street Pianos Boston, produced by Celebrity Series of Boston. Created by artists Macarena Valdes & Carlos Sartori, the piano at the State House is being hosted at the State House by MASSCreative, a nonprofit organization that works with Massachusetts arts & cultural institutions and working artists to advocate for the resources and support the arts & cultural community needs to build vibrant, creative, & equitable communities.
“The arts are truly for everyone, and nothing illustrates that more than when the arts are put in public spaces, where anyone can participate,” said Matt Wilson, executive director of MASSCreative. “We are thrilled to host a piano at the State House and look forward to everyone stopping by with their legislators to play.”
Sixty pianos, created by local artists, have been placed in public outdoor space in every Boston neighborhood and select Cambridge locations for the public to play and enjoy. Each piano will feature a simple invitation: “Play Me, I’m Yours.” The installation will run from September 23 – October 10, 2016.
Each piano will be hosted by a local partner who has committed to acting as a “piano buddy”, which includes covering the piano in inclement weather, reporting any damages and locking the keyboard at night during the two weeks of the installation.
In 2016, the Freedom Trail will figure prominently in the Street Pianos Boston installation. In addition to the piano located at the Massachusetts State House, pianos will be found at King’s Chapel on Beacon Hill, at the Old North Church in the North End of Boston and in the Charlestown Navy Yard, near the U.S.S. Constitution.
A full list of all the locations, host and partner organizations, and visual artists can be found at www.streetpianosboston.org. An interactive mobile map for locating all 60 pianos can be found by downloading the free Beam.in app on iOS at http://streetpianosboston.beam.in.
Play Me, I’m Yours was created by UK artist Luke Jerram and has been touring internationally since 2008. Celebrity Series of Boston first produced the installation in Boston in 2013 when more than 500,000 people across the city engaged with Street Pianos Boston, sharing music and song in a citywide festival. More than 1,500 pianos have now been installed in 50 cities across the globe, from New York to London. The project has reached more than 10 million people worldwide, with each new city that commissions the work becoming part of a growing legacy.
In Boston, Street Pianos Boston is produced by the Celebrity Series of Boston, whose community engagement initiatives reach thousands of individuals annually through master classes with main stage artists in public schools and conservatories; hands-on, interactive workshops for youth led by a core group of Boston-area artists; free community concerts in Boston neighborhoods; free and discounted tickets to main stage performances; and large-scale, public participatory performance projects such as Street Pianos Boston.
To learn more about Street Pianos Boston, visit celebrityseries.org or streetpianos.com/boston2016 or follow the process on social media using hashtag #streetpianosboston.
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