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♪ MUSIC ♪
(Unloading piano)
NARRATOR: Jason Peterson and his crew have unloaded
and moved plenty of pianos.
JASON: You know this piano won't fit through most home doors.
NARRATOR: They've rolled them from one house to another,
from shops to homes, up stairs, through hallways...
But they've never had a move like this.
JASON PETERSON: Some pianos go to concerts in parks,
but this is the first time we're putting a piano
in a park and walking away from them.
(Screwdriver)
NARRATOR: Once this piano and its parts are secure,
it's time for the finishing touch.
A sign calling out to the public, announcing a purpose...
"Play Me, I'm Yours."
(Various people playing the piano)
NARRATOR: The vision of British artist Luke Jerram,
Play Me, I'm Yours is a public art project
which has been touring internationally since 2008.
Paris, London, Geneva...
Play Me, I'm Yours has installed more than
1000 pianos at locations around the world.
For two weeks last summer,
it was Omaha's turn to play host.
10 pianos, decorated by local artists,
were placed in public areas all over the city.
SALLY REAY: We're hoping what it does is
bring people from different walks of life,
different ethnic and cultural backgrounds
and different age groups.
♪ MUSIC ♪ (Piano being moved)
NARRATOR: Sally Reay works for Luke Jerram, and
says he came up with the idea while sitting in a laundry mat,
after he noticed no one was talking to each other.
REAY: He was wondering how he could
break down those barriers, and he was thinking
wow, if I put a piano in here, people would start playing it
and start talking to each other.
♪ Piano playing ♪
NARRATOR: The idea to paint the pianos came later...
♪ Piano playing ♪
...and adds a different element to the project
by involving the local art community.
♪ Piano playing ♪
REAY: It also makes them more approachable.
I think if they just look like a normal piano,
people might just think it's in the middle of
being transported from one place to another.
♪ Piano playing ♪
NARRATOR: No one knows for sure how many people
actually played the Omaha pianos - but they did play.
♪ Piano playing ♪
It's exactly the outcome the Omaha Creative Institute
hoped for when it began planning
for the project almost two years ago.
SUSAN THOMAS: We are doing all of this because
it is a great way to involve people in the community
in the arts that may not be part of the art scene.
♪ Piano playing ♪
THOMAS: So it's just to show how ubiquitous
and how important arts are to our world
and to our lives.
♪ Piano playing ♪
THOMAS: We have music, painting, dancing, singing,
storytelling, writing, all connected together.
♪ Piano playing ♪
NARRATOR: For the hundreds, possibly thousands,
of people who experienced Play Me, I'm Yours in Omaha,
the playing may have stopped...
♪ Piano playing ♪
...but the music continues.
♪ Piano playing ♪
The project puts forth a concept we could all learn from.
When people come together and share a piece of themselves,
the harmony of life and art, is a thing of beauty.
♪ Piano playing ♪