With the stroke of a brush and just less than a month shy of a stroke of a single key, call it art imitating art.
“It’s been performed, recreated all over the world. Because we are the only Southeast United States city to have this project here,” said Roger Malfatti.
Last year, Malfatti’s fellow group member Reynolds Williams took a trip to Vancouver, Canada to only to discover one thing.
“..People going to a piano all day and playing and investigated….oh it’s just out here to play,” he explained.
That one thing, turned out to be a big deal.
“Play Me, I’m Yours’” is an international tour.
Since 2008, with more than 1,300 pianos it’s reached 6 million people in 45 cities worldwide.
However, the next stop is in Florence.
“I hope they [people] stop and get out and ask,” laughed Malfatti, who is the project manager.
Gwen Galloway was always an artist at heart until an opportunity to paint came knocking.
“I’ve just been plugging along and this came along…and I was like this would be amazing you know, to have a piece of something that’s international,” she mentioned.
“I went screaming through the back of the shop and I was screaming my bosses name…Steve, Steve I got one and he said good at least one of us needs to be famous. So that for me, it was awesome,” Galloway added.
Galloway joins the other local artists who will paint the 25 pianos before the tour begins.
“Originally we thought we maybe have 15, it’ll be kind of fun but a lot of pianos people just called and said come and get it,” Malfatti said shaking his head.
Organizers will place the pianos throughout the greater Florence area.
The tour will kick off Friday April, 17th with a block party in downtown Florence.
For more information on “Play Me, I’m Yours'” Florence click here.
