Painted pianos are scattered across Forest Hills parks

  • 2018-07-17
Every summer since 2006, colorfully painted and decorated pianos have popped up in parks in Forest Hills and other areas of Queens. This summer, 51 pianos were installed during the month of June

The pianos are installed by Sing for Hope, an organization that works with artists to decorate pianos and turn them into attention-grabbing showpieces in area parks. The pianos will remain in the parks throughout the summer. Once fall rolls around, they will be gathered up and donated to area schools.

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Sing for Hope was founded by Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora, a pair of opera singers and alumni from the Juilliard School. The two were looking for a way to open up access to the arts to more people. Since the program's founding, more than 500 pianos have been decorated, placed in parks, then donated to schools.

Schools who are interested in receiving a piano can apply to the program through open application. There is also an open application for artists who wish to donate their skills and talents.

One of this year's pianos is located in Forest Hills' Yellowstone Park. Called ‘Owls’, it was designed by Chelsea Marotta, from Long Island. The piano has 587 owls painted on it.

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