If you see some brightly painted pianos on the streets of Salt Lake City this summer, we hope that you stop and check them out. They’re there for you to play!

Deseret Industries and the Mundi Project—an organization that seeks to inspire youth and provide open access to pianos and music education—placed four pianos around Salt Lake City as a gift to the community. Stop by and play a duet with a friend, improvise a song inspired by the city, or brush up on your scales! If you take pictures or videos of your piano experience, share them with us on social media by using #PeoplesPianoProject.

Each piano was painted by a member of the community: three of the pianos were painted by local artists, and the fourth was painted by Utah Arts Festival attendees. If you want to play one of our pianos, you can find them at these locations:

The Gallivan Center

(239 Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111)

This beautiful music-under-the-sea piano was painted by Cheryl Johnson, who hoped the fun artwork would encourage people to play. You can see the piano for yourself at the Gallivan Center on a patio behind the outdoor stage.

The piano was painted off-site, and the painting process took about 15 hours. Watch Johnson paint the piano in this time-lapse video.

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Abravanel Hall

(123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101)

The artwork on this piano was inspired by live music. Pianist Paula Malmstrom played the piano while artist David Habben painted it. Passersby got to watch as the music and paint transformed the piano at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints family history street fair.

You can find the piano at Abravanel Hall.

The Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts (Liberty Park)

(1150 South Constitution Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84105)

Situated on the porch of the Chase Museum at Liberty Park, this piano was painted by Tracy Williams and features a quote from Bob Marley, which reads, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

Williams’s artwork was inspired by her father, who passed away just a few weeks before she worked on the piano. Williams’s father encouraged her creativity as a child, and she shared this story about how he helped her get started with art:

“When I was a little girl, my dad gave my sister and me a broken crayon and let us draw on the walls at home. My mother was a bit upset because we were renting the house at the time. My dad's response was, ‘We can just paint over it. Let them be happy.’ Ever since then, I've been painting.”

Williams wanted to paint something that would help people feel connected when they listened to the music.

As Williams painted the sides of the piano, she felt inspired by a group of women sitting on the museum porch and having a picnic. As she listened to their conversation and enjoyed their company, Williams painted what she felt.

Salt Lake City Public Library

(210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111)

At the Utah Arts Festival, people of all ages stopped to help paint this piano, which is now located at the Salt Lake City Public Library. 

The collaborative painting process was guided by Bruce Robertson and Shelley Redford-Young, two faculty members from the Visual Art Institute. Painters of all skill levels left their mark on the piano in a variety of colors and designs. The piano is decorated with hearts, plants, music notes, swirls, and a whole lot of community creativity.

With the help of some community members, these pianos have a new purpose and a new life. If you’re musically inclined, love cool art, or think seeing the potential in things around you is important, stop by one of our pianos and play to your heart’s content!

Thank you to the Utah Division of Arts and Museums; the Salt Lake City Arts Council; the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts and Parks program; and the Visual Art Institute for their support.