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Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Play It Again

That might be what folks along Main Street here in Nashua, NH could be saying from spring until fall, even without piano player Sam*.

WHY?

Because as of this past weekend, there are 2 publicly playable pianos downtown.

The pianos were painted by local artists and placed in two downtown locations for anyone to play and enjoy at anytime. 

The Nashua Street Pianos project is supported by the City of Nashua, local businesses and individuals.
The pianos will stay outdoors from May to October with maintenance and tuning twice a month. Business sponsors will help cover the pianos during inclement weather. 

The Nashua Street Piano Project was inspired by British artist Luke Jerram’s internationally touring “Play Me, I’m Yours” street pianos project which has placed nearly 1,500 pianos in over 50 cities worldwide since its 2008 start.

Along with the pianos, there's also some temporary public art projects on downtown streets. 

The art was provided by ARTventures Nashua. 

This public art program facilitates temporary art projects, performances, and special events that create a fun environment for downtown shopping, dining, culture and entertainment.


ART ventures  is funded by the City of Nashua Downtown Improvement Committee. The art is created from everyday recycled items.

* "Play it again, Sam" has become one of the most misquoted lines in filmdom. Yet, the line is never spoken in the film, Casablanca

Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) asks piano player, Sam (Dooley Wilson) to “Play it once, Sam, for old times’ sake.” When he hesitates she says, “Play it, Sam.”

Later, in an exchange between Sam and Rick (Humphrey Bogart) Rick says:You played it for her, you can play it for me” and “If she can stand it, I can. Play it.”

12 comments:

Connie said...

The art is neat to see. I love the idea of the pianos available to the public. Encouraging music seems like a good thing to me.

Anonymous said...

Cool idea about the public pianos.

MadSnapper said...

i really love to see public art and these are really wonderful.. Sarasota, about 12 miles from us, has pianos out for the public. and one man who is homeless plays like an angel.. they had him on the news.. i think it is a great idea... i have never seen Casablanca but it is a shock to know play it again Sam is not in the movie.. that saying i have heard ad read over and over

L. D. said...

The piano idea is such a great one. We have a couple in downtown Des Moines.

Emma Springfield said...

Having the pianos is a fantastic idea. And the artwork is stupendous. I really like the blue abstract. I think you are in a fun place for the summer.

William Kendall said...

Very colourful art installations. There's a grand piano in our city hall that's there for anyone to play, and the acoustics are pretty good in there.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

I never would have expected that...never!! Beautiful, bright and artistic...:)JP

DeniseinVA said...

Beautifully colored pianos at that. I like all the art too. We're in a busy snap again. Trying to catch up on the comments. Thanks for stopping by and hope your week is going well so far :)

Lynn said...

Nice bit of film trivia - I did see that film at and didn't pick up on that.

Lovely that the pianos are out for all to play - I wondered about the rain, but sounds as if attentive business owners will cover them.

I would have loved to see my self-taught piano playing grandmother to sit down and bang out some hymns outdoors. She would have liked that, too. Thanks for that image.

Anvilcloud said...

Fun stuff both, but especially the pianos. I hope it works out well.

possum said...

I love it that so many places now have pianos for the public to enjoy... and what fun art installations! COOL!

Anonymous said...

What a fun idea! Would be fun if they ever did something like that over here.

Not long ago they showed that movie on tv here, I never miss it when they do!

Have a great day!

Christer.