Every piano needs a player 鈥� and around Halifax this summer, several colourful pianos are waiting for you to tickle their ivories.
You may have already seen the pianos around town: on the waterfront, on Barrington Street and in Cornwallis Park. Dubbed 鈥�#PlayMeHFX,鈥� the pianos are the brainchild of AV俱乐部 Planning students Peter Nightingale and Jeremy Banks.
Peter says the first spark of inspiration for the idea was the piano in the Woodside Terminal in Dartmouth, which he passes through each day on his commute to Dal. 鈥淢ontreal and London have also done similar projects and after doing research and contacting other cities it just seemed like a really great fit for Halifax,鈥� he says.
Jeremy says the project came together quickly. 鈥淲e first started talking to partners in March,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚n April we had more firm conversations around it. As far as public parks and beautification goes, it鈥檚 been pretty lightning speed.鈥�
Thus far, Haligonias seems to have really taken to the pianos, even going so far as to take it upon themselves to cover them up with tarps in bad weather. That trust was one of the challenges the two students saw in putting the program together. Another was the time commitment.
鈥淭he project is really fun and we鈥檙e so proud of it but we both have day jobs,鈥� says Peter. 鈥淚t takes a lot of time to organise, paint and install pianos. It鈥檚 become almost a fulltime commitment.鈥�
Don鈥檛 worry though: the students won鈥檛 be shying away from the project or shutting it down any time soon. Instead they say they鈥檙e looking at how it can continue in the future.
鈥淥ur partnership with the waterfront is great, as they manage waterfronts all over the province,鈥� says Peter. 鈥淭hat would be a great way to expand. Now that the project is out there we also have a lot of people wanting to donate time, resources, and even pianos, which helps a lot.鈥�
So next time you鈥檙e on the waterfront make sure to look out for #PlayMeHfx, why not hit up a tune?