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50 Hand-Painted Pianos Will Pop Up on NYC Streets

A favorite NYC outdoor art installation is making its return this summer: 50 hand-painted pianos will be appearing throughout the five boroughs.

Sing for Hope, a non-profit dedicated to "renewing hope through the power of arts outreach," will debut all 50 pianos on June 4 at 28 Liberty Plaza.

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After the pianos make their debut, they will be scattered across the five boroughs for a three-week stay in high-traffic locations, so that all of New York City can enjoy them.

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Policía de Kissimmee

In addition to the initial feel-good cause, Sing for Hope also teamed up with MINI USA to make the MINIPiano, a mobile piano that will travel across the city for surprise pop-up performances featuring special guests.

"We're in the process of launching an app that will show the location of all the pianos and the MINIPiano ... Not all New Yorkers have travelled to all of the boroughs, so the pianos double as almost a scavenger hunt to explore the city,'" said Camille Zamora, Co-Founder of Sing for Hope.

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Getty Images

This year's pianos have been created by various local artists and crews, including the Broadway casts of Kinky Boots, Dear Evan Hansen, The Play that Goes Wrong, and Wicked.

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After three weeks on the streets, the pianos will be hand-delivered to under-resourced public schools throughout NYC.

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Getty Images

Sing for Hope has placed 130 pianos in NYC public schools to date, many of which had never had a piano in the building before.

"It's so fun to get feedback on what these pianos make possible. With public schools it's not just the classes that use them, but after school programs, girl scout troops ... There's such a range for what these instruments go on to do," said Monica Yunus, Co-Founder of Sing for Hope.

While this is the seventh time the initiative has taken place in NYC, it doesn't make the experience of seeking them out any less exciting (or Instagram worthy).

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