Watertown Artists Selected for Street Pianos Boston

WATERTOWN, MA – Three Watertown residents are among 60 local artists selected to participate in "Play Me, I'm Yours," a public art installation that places street pianos around Boston.

Ruth K. Henry, Ryan Edwards and Dawn Evans Scaltreto will help create the pianos, which will be on display from September 23 to October 10.

Henry has worked on many community arts projects and incorporates her love of color, texture, music and justice into her work and first encountered "Play Me, I'm Yours" in 2013.

Edwards is a multi-media artist and graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he first began learning about African music and dance. He often works in a space where music, dance and physical art blend together, and he has apprenticed with public artists.

Evans Scaltreto is a professional artist and a founding board member and creator of the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. She currently serves as president of the New England Watercolor Society.

"Play Me, I'm Yours," the brainchild of Luke Jerram, features 60 pianos installed around Boston and select Cambridge locations. Jerram's art display has been touring internationally since 2008, and since then has reached more than 10 million people in 50 cities around the world. "Play Me, I'm Yours" first arrived in Boston in 2013 and has been produced by Celebrity Series for the last three years.

Work on the pianos has begun and will continue through August 26 at the Innovation and Design building in Boston. In addition to painting and illustration, this year's artists have a background in a myriad of mediums, including sculpture, quilting, woodblock printing, dance and music.

"We are incredibly pleased with the response to our call for artists for Street Pianos Boston. There has been great enthusiasm about being a part of the installation and sharing a vision for these pianos with the entire city," said Gary Dunning, president and executive director of Celebrity Series, said in a press release. "The process has resulted in a strong, diverse group of artists and we can’t wait to see what they create."

Funding for the project is provided by Amy and Joshua Boger, The Boston Foundation, the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, Klarman Family Foundation, Donna and Mike Egan, Eleanor and Frank Pao, Gentle Giant Moving Company, the Innovation and Design building, Downtown Boston Business Improvement District and Fund for the Arts.

"The Boston Foundation is thrilled to provide support for the second presentation of Street Pianos Boston, a fantastic participatory public art installation. As Boston’s community foundation, the Boston Foundation is committed to fostering vibrant neighborhoods, and believes innovative public art projects like these are an exciting way to actively engage Bostonians and visitors across the city and bring communities together," Paul S. Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation, said in the release. "Celebrity Series has played an important role in Boston's arts and culture sector for decades and we are excited to partner with this important organization as it moves to take on more art projects in the public realm."

To learn more about Play Me I'm Yours, visit celebrityseries.org or streetpianosboston.org or follow the process on social media using hashtag #streetpianosboston.

Image via Shutterstock