I have a deep and abiding love of cities. Some people long for wide open spaces. Not me. There’s nothing better for filling up the novelty-meter than time spent walking a city end to end.
Which is why I love this announcement about freely available pianos sprinkled all over New York City, part of an art project called “Play Me, I’m Yours.”
Evidently, the same artist, Luke Jerram, also did something similar in London last year (this write-up in the New York Times provides a good background on the project).
I am a sucker for happenstance things like this–I’m easily sidelined by the beauty of a single violin ringing out from a subway station, much less a piano. This is the stuff that reminds me how much I love cities, and the random magic that’s possible in them.
Speaking of random happenstance, these have made the rounds already, but they’re still worth mentioning.
Have you seen the video of people frozen in Grand Central Station, in New York, puzzling the commuters?
Or the video of dancers in Antwerp’s Central Station? (Staged by a company instead of impromptu, but still fun.)
Or Improv Everywhere (responsible for the Grand Central action) inviting fellow New Yorkers to look up more?
Or the more recent Glee flash mob in Seattle? Or the dance party that inspired it in Rome? Jazz hands, everyone!
If you are able to live in a great city at this exact moment in time, these are all good reasons to get out of the car (maybe on an awesome bike the makes you happy), look around, and appreciate how lucky we are. And if not, now’s a perfect time to plan your next trip to Venice, London, Tokyo, New York, Barcelona…
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