Art is music to the ears
Jul 9 2009 by Sam Wonfor, The Journal
ALLENDALE is currently enjoying an ivory-tinkling soundtrack, thanks to an art installation involving what you might call a public service piano.
Since Sunday, a piano has been stood outside the Pebbles Gallery on the village’s Shield Street, available to be played by any passer by who fancies it.
So far, residents and visitors have been treated to a repertoire which has placed Chopsticks alongside old war tunes, and tracks from Sting’s back catalogue next to a Madness recital... and they’ve been welcoming it with open ears.
“We’ve had a really, really great response with all ages and abilities both playing and enjoying the piano,” said Amanda Galbraith, the Pebbles Gallery’s project coordinator.
“The nice thing is that people have sat down to play the piano even though they don’t know how. They just want to hear it make a sound. Then we have had the other extreme with people sitting down to play who are really brilliant.
“It’s just such a lovely thing to see and hear people who are just walking by, simply sitting down and starting to play. We’ve been leaving the door of the gallery open, so while we are busy we can hear what’s playing.”
The installation is a tuneful spin-off of a touring art project, currently offering Londoners the same opportunity, on a bit of a larger scale.
Play Me, I’m Yours has seen 30 pianos being installed at locations around the capital – available to all who want to play or decorate them.
Created by artist Luke Jerram, the project was designed to get strangers who regularly occupy the same space, to talk and connect with one another by using the pianos to disrupt people’s negotiation of the city. It has already enjoyed successful residencies in Birmingham, Brazil, Sydney and Bury St Edmonds.
“When I read about it, I just thought it sounded such a wonderful idea,” explained Amanda. We often do music and art projects at the Pebbles Gallery (which houses an artists’ collective) and I thought this would be great. I called the office of Boris Johnson (the London Mayor) to find out whose idea it was and then contacted Luke to see if he would allow us to have a piano in Allendale.
“He thought it was a lovely idea and has been really supportive. I’ve been keeping him updated on how it has been going.”
The first of such updates involved the first public participant – an old lady who decided to revisit her piano playing days following a trip to the chemist.
Amanda explained: “I was just opening up the gallery and she came out of the chemist, set down her shopping and started playing We’ll Meet Again. It was fantastic. People were stopping in the street and coming to listen... then she just picked up all her things and said, ‘that was lovely’.
“The other day a 12-year-old girl whose mum was doing some shopping, just sat down and started playing so beautifully... and we know for a fact someone has been playing it at night because when I took the tarpaulin off this morning, the lid was up.” The piano will remain outside the gallery for public consumption between 10am and 5pm every day until the end of the month, when it will be auctioned to the highest bidder by the Allendale Lions to raise funds for the new Allendale Art And Media Centre that the local community are developing.
“Some of the artists from the gallery are going to decorate the piano at the end of the month, so it will be a special thing to have,” said Amanda, who added they are also in need of a generous piano tuner in the next week or so. Anyone who can help should call the gallery on (01434) 683975.
