Public art pianos placed on corners, parks and pedestrian plazas from 30th Street Station to Clark Park were met with smiles, stares and intrigued musicians during their debut today.

The University City District is overseeing the project, which is entitled Heart and Soul and is similar in spirit to public piano project in several cities worldwide that combine visual and performance art.

“Hey, how’d you get that piano here?” one passerby asked a man playing the piano placed in the central plaza area of Clark Park, the piano that is farthest West.

Anyone can play the eight pianos until this project ends on June 17. They were transformed into works of art by local artists and placed at high-traffic pedestrian areas today. A list of the locations and bios of the artists are available here. See more photos below.

The idea is simple: eight beautifully decorated pianos, in public places, for anyone to play. This is the essence of University City District’s initiative, Heart & Soul: The University City Public Piano Project which will run from June 7-17, 2012. It is an interactive public art exhibition featuring eight artist-decorated pianos on sidewalks and in parks and public spaces throughout University City. Eight artists or collectives were chosen to visually re-interpret the pianos, transforming each into a unique piece of visual art: Terry Adkins, Joe Boruchow, Justin Duerr, Melissa Maddoni Haims, The Heads of State, Kali Yuga Zoo Brigade, Katie Holeman, and Thom Lessner.

UCD will hold an opening reception and launch party on Wednesday, June 6 at 6pm at The Porch at 30^th Street Station, where all eight pianos will debut. The launch party will also celebrate the opening of Hakoniwa: A Site Specific Public Art Installation at the Porch. Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto has “responded to The Porch’s concrete planters creating a ‘garden’ that extends the reach of the colorful forms within each planter. But rather than representing the flora seen around The Porch, Yamamoto has selected objects from her daily life, and reproduced them in colorful silhouettes at once abstract and recognizable to passersby.”

From June 7-17, the pianos will then be placed throughout the neighborhood at the following locations: The Porch at 30th Street Station, Drexel Park (32^nd and Powelton), Clark Park (43^rd and Baltimore), Drexel Dragon Statue (33^rd and Market), University Square (36^th and Walnut), Locust Walk, The Radian Plaza (3925 Walnut), and The Science Center (37^th Street Pedestrian Mall, at Market St.).

For a complete list of Heart & Soul details visit http://www.universitycity.org/heart-soul

– Emma Eisenberg
 

The Mural Arts Program and Warrior Writers, a veteran-focused arts organization that fosters artistic exploration and expression, is hosting a community barbecue on Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Woodland Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets – the future site of the mural “Our City, Our Vets.”

The event is part of an ongoing effort to gather community support for veterans returning to Philadelphia. Veterans are encouraged to share their stories through visual art and writing in projects that will help the public better understand what they have been through. You can see some of the artwork created so far here.

Veterans have been attending workshops at Studio 34 since January to create their own pieces and help artists Willis Humphrey and Phillip Adams come up with a design for the mural, which will be installed on a wall at 4129 Woodland Ave. (the location of Saturday’s barbecue) in the fall.

During the barbecue the Mural Arts program will project images of the proposed mural and other art work by veterans. There will also be poetry reading storytelling and the chance to create some art of your own.

Suspecting Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for weapons of mass destruction, money laundering, and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, the Albany (New York) Counter-Terrorism Task Force and Federal carried out a sting operation in 2004 to investigate the two men, ultimately sentencing them both to 15 years in jail. Filmmaker Ellie Bernstein documents the case in his 2008 film Waiting for Mercy, which will be screened in Clark Park (45th & Regent) Friday night at 8 p.m. If it rains, the program will be moved to Calvary Church (48th & Baltimore).

The Philadelphia International Action Center will sponsor the free outdoor screening, the first in the 2012 Clark Park Summer Film Series. Representing Project SALAM, a support and legal advocacy group for Muslims, Lynne Jackson will introduce the film and lead a question and answer session after the screening. Bring movie snacks and a blanket, and prepare your mind for a film that boldly reveals a case of religious discrimination and racial profiling in the United States.

Neither Aref nor Hossain had any previous criminal record. According to the Albany Times Union, the investigation was allegedly sparked by an entry listing Aref’s name, phone number, and address in a notebook found in a bombed Iraqi encampment. Government officials originally claimed that the word “commander” had been written next to Aref’s name in the notebook, but when pressed by the judge of the case to see the entry in the notebook, the officials admitted they had mistranslated the Kurdish word “kak” which means “brother.”

Here’s the movie trailer:

 
– Erica Kimmel
 

Update: Per Glenn Bryan’s Facebook post this afternoon, the Malcolm X Park concert this evening featuring GB and Reference Point is canceled. Glenn has reported on his Facebook page that bassist Aaron Hayes was shot on his way to work this morning. Please keep Aaron and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Here is the Philly.com story about the shooting.

The West Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Series was supposed to kick off tonight at 7 p.m. in Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine) with Reference Point, featuring Glenn Bryan, Craig Winn, Aaron Hayes and Tony “Stickman” Wyatt. These guys have a bunch of different influences, from classical to Latin to R&B.

This summer’s series includes eight more dates in June, July, August and September. We’ll fill you in on the acts as we get them. The series is hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the Friends of Malcolm X. Park.

 
This Friday, June 1, photographer and neighbor JJ Tiziou will team up with Studio 34 to present a special evening of photographs, dance, and music.

Tiziou will show a slideshow of images from his recent trip volunteering with Mercy Ships in Togo, West Africa, followed by a dance performance by Fatima Adamu and Melissa Diane (Jacelyn Biondo and Kristen Shahverdian). Then the stage will belong to The David Wax Museum, one of last year’s Philly Folk Festival headliners. Their particular blend of guitar and percussion made on a donkey’s jaw bone is not to be missed, especially in such an intimate setting.

Sliding scale contributions will help support JJ Tiziou Photography’s community projects.

Friday, June 1, 8 p.m., Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave, upstairs.

– Emma Eisenberg