ITEM PHOTO BY ADAM SWIFT
Angelo Silver and his son Kieran played a tune on one of the painted pianos on Main Street Thursday morning as officials kicked off the second season of the program.
By ADAM SWIFT
PEABODY — If you’re in the mood to tickle the ivories, downtown Peabody is the place to be this summer.
Thursday morning was the official unveiling of the second year of the Play Us a Tune painted piano project. The five pianos, painted by local artists and sponsored by Peabody businesses, is a collaboration between city officials and Peabody Main Streets.
“The program is really meant to bring art, visual art and music, to Main Street,” said Pedro Soto, the city’s planner. “Our hope really is for folks to come out and enjoy playing and enjoy listening and to frequent our beautiful shops, get some coffee and just connect with the folks in the neighborhood.”
The Mad Hatter-inspired piano on Main Street near Northfield Properties and Breaking Ground Cafe was designed and painted by the artists at ArcWorks Community Art Center on Foster Street. ArcWorks is a program of the Northeast Arc that provides artistic opportunity to people with disabilities.
“There were multiple artists that put together the theme of the Mad Hatter,” said Susan Dodge, director of ArcWorks. “There was one design that was painted by all my artists from ArcWorks, who are all represented here today. I want to congratulate everyone for doing an awesome job.”
The other brightly colored pianos are in front of the library, near Santoros, and in Peabody Square near Sports Collectables and under the Civil War monument. This year’s sponsors for the program include the Peabody Institute Library, North Shore Bank, Lahey Clinic, Rousselot, and the Law Offices of Jason Panos, according to Soto.
Peabody resident Angelo Silver played a tune with his son, Kieran, to help kick off the season.