Photo Courtesy of Dee Billia
One of the art-inspired pianos is transformed by the creativity of artist Marie Glynn. This piano is one of six that have been placed around South Orange for residents to enjoy for the next two months.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Playin’ Around South Orange kicks off its third year in a row on Saturday, Aug. 29, at noon, bringing live music and art in the form of hand-painted pianos and outdoor performances to six separate South Orange locations. The PNC Bank and SOPAC-sponsored project runs from Aug. 24 through Oct. 6, with Wednesday night jam sessions under the Sloan Street gazebo from 5 to 7 p.m in September. Other community supporters of the project include The Baird, South Orange, South Orange Village and Community Alliance, and Seton Hall University.
Kick-off festivities will feature live performances by professional musicians at each of the five piano locations currently open from noon until 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. Artists will be in attendance at their pianos. With simultaneous mini-concerts happening all over town, the day will be music and art-inspired. Piano locations are Cameron Park, The Gateway, Spiotta Park, Irvington and W. Fairview avenues, and the Sloan Street gazebo. Additionally, there will be a piano located at Seton Hall University once its school year begins.
Each year, local artists complete an application process for the honor of transforming an old piano into a contemporary piece of art. On average each artist donates up to 30 hours per piano to bring this musical event to life. Paint and supplies either come from the artists themselves or are donated by local businesses.
Marie Glynn painted her second piano this year, having taken on a mermaid-themed upright in 2013, the first year of the project. This year she turned another “tall” piano into a Van Gogh-inspired piece, with swirls of “Starry Night” blowing across the front and lyrics from the song “Vincent” wafting around the instrument’s pedals. Other contributing artists for 2015 are Bill Billec, Larry Ciarallo, Lisa Hirkaler, Columbia High School student Austin Romanaux, as well as Seton Hall University peer advisers. People will remember Ciarallo’s and Billec’s pianos from last year, with Ciarallo’s being the Ray Charles baby grand at The Gateway and Billec’s the “car-themed” player piano complete with fuzzy dice under the Sloan Street gazebo.
This year’s creations promise to be just as interesting, riffing on “Blue Suede Shoes” and a portrait of New Orleans pianist “Mac” Rebennack.
Pianos are donated by various individuals from throughout the community. Director of SOPAC Community Engagement Linda Beard keeps her eyes and ears open for possible donations all year long, sometimes asking people to “hold on to” their instruments for several months until the summer comes around again. Her goal for the program is “to interrupt the humdrum day-to-day and allow people the opportunity to interact with different genres of art in a unique way.”
“It’s about bringing what we do inside the SOPAC building outside the building,” Beard said in a release.
Weather is an obvious challenge for the instruments. SOPAC staff try to watch the forecast while the pianos are out, but occasionally a compassionate citizen will take notice of an impending storm and spontaneously pull a SOPAC-supplied blue tarp over the artwork, preserving it for a few more improvisational concerts.
“That’s exactly the kind of behavior we are looking to ignite,” Beard said. “We want the community to take ownership of this experience and realize that these instruments are not ‘ours.’ They belong to South Orange.”
All six pianos will be up for auction on www.biddingforgood.com from the point of kickoff until Oct. 4 when Playin’ Around South Orange is scheduled to end.
Additional information on the auction, jam sessions and the pianos is available on the SOPAC website at www.sopacnow. org/community/sopianos.