The 7th Annual Sing for Hope Pianos has once again brought beautiful painted pianos to the 5 boroughs, with 6 being in the Bronx. This year, Sing for Hope teamed up with MINI USA for #DrivingHope, a partnership motivated by their shared passion for bringing creativity to communities. MINI USA created a piano on wheels – the #MINIPiano which will travel to pop-up concerts featuring special guests around the five boroughs from June 4-24. The Sing for Hope Pianos reach an estimated 2 million New Yorkers annually each June. After their time on the streets concludes on June 24, the Pianos will be donated to 50 New York City public schools.
Check out the list of Bronx locations and information on the artists below:
Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
895 Shore Road. Hours: Mon – Sun 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
DHANASHREE GADIYAR
This piano is a fusion of two concepts. The first is a dedication to the immigrant who moved from India with her spouse on a dependant visa years ago. She used to wait for handwritten letters from home and that was a big part of her narrative. Secondly, this design was also born out of an admiration for the women who apply henna at weddings for hours. They dedicate themselves to applying the patterns with precision and care on the bride’s and the guests’ hands for hours. I tried to simulate the henna process, dotting with my brush and drawing with markers.
Dhanashree Gadiyar is an installation artist, storyteller, and educator from India living in New York. She collects stories of immigrants living in the United States of America and then makes individual portraits or large scale installations with them. She has a MFA in Fine Arts from City College of New York (CCNY). She has done fellowships with The Laundromat Project and with the Bronx Museum in the last two years. Currently, she works as the Director of ArTech, an inclusive Arts Studio in the Bronx.
Joyce Kilmer Park
TREVON BLONDET
!MIRANDO PUERTO RICO!
I went to Puerto Rico in July 2017. It was the first time being there since I was seventeen, and I wanted sorely to feel connected with the island and find some internal peace for myself. During the trip, I photographed the countryside, driving along the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean while taking portraits of the people I came across.
Trevon received a Bachelors of Fine Art in Communication, from Long Island University. In 2013 he began volunteering at the Bronx Documentary Center and was exposed to various ways photography can tell stories without writing. He joined the Bronx Photo League to explore opportunities as a photojournalist and to document his community. Trevon has been published in the New York Times in 2015 for his work on the Jerome Avenue Workers Project, and also documenting The Bushwick Collective outdoor gallery in Brooklyn since 2014. Trevon starting out photographing concerts and sports; now he documents everyday Bronx neighborhoods and people to shed a positive light on his subjects. Using portraits and street photography, Trevon is a visual storyteller with his photography.
Poe Park Visitor’s Center
2640 Grand Concourse. Hours: Tue – Sat 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Closed Sunday and Monday
NICK STAVRIDES
Nick Stavrides was born in Washington Heights in the late 60’s and resides in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City today. As a child, he would spend hours in the waters of Montauk, snorkeling and drifting among the fish. It was a place where he felt safe and is the inspiration for his fish series that’s consumed him for the last many years. A self-trained painter, Stavrides embraces the art of different tribes and cultures which gives his work a primitive quality. He also draws inspiration by observing New Yorkers in their daily rhythms on the streets and makes comparisons between them and the schools of fish.
Van Cortlandt House Museum
6036 Broadway (at W 246th Street). Hours: Tue – Sun 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Closed Monday
IRINA SHEYNFELD
Irina grew up in Odessa, Ukraine where she was classically trained as a painter, designer and puppet maker. Then she continued her studies at Parsons School of Design where she earned her BFA, then she received an MFA at School of Visual Arts. Irina had multiple solo exhibitions, her work was included in numerous juried group shows and published by various publications including WSJ, Money Magazine and Oxygen Media. Irina is a recipient of the COJECO’s Blueprint Fellowship and Grant.
Virginia Park
LAURA ALVAREZ
Laura Alvarez studied her Fine Arts MA between Spain and UK, and she has been a graphic designer for more than 15 years. Before she left Spain she was running the Communication and PR department in a private school for several years. She arrived in NY in 2009 and she went back to basics: more art, illustration, mural painting, and becoming a community leader and an educator. She is a teaching artist and the Vice President of BxArts Factory, a newly created organization with a clear mission: to make art accessible to everyone in the Bronx. She has exhibited all over Europe and New York in collective and solo shows. She started curating shows in 2012. Laura has received several awards, grants, and residencies.
Williamsbridge Oval Community Center
3225 Reservoir Oval East. Hours: Mon – Fri 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM Sat – Sun 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
ERIN KATE ARCHER
erin kate archer is primarily a watercolor illustrator living & knitting in brooklyn, ny with work that features the handmade, feminine, and magical. She’s the illustrator of the children’s book finbar & fiona and manages an array of illustration prints on etsy. You can keep up with her at her website and across the internet.