Carteret, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman was joined by the Central Jersey Arts Council (CJAC) to announce the second annual “Pianos in the Parks” Art Contest for local residents and businesses. Artists are encouraged to submit designs reflecting the community, Carteret history and the importance of art and recreation. The Borough has acquired six additional pianos for this year’s 2017 Pianos in the Park program.
The idea for the Pianos in the Parks program was inspired by a trip Mayor Reiman took to the New Orleans Jazz Fest, which had a similar program. Seeing the civic pride the pianos inspired, Mayor Reiman decided to partner with CJAC to hold a contest for Borough artists to submit designs to be painted on Pianos displayed in Borough parks and community spaces. Eleven submissions were selected and the artists were given the opportunity to paint their design onto primed pianos that would later be tuned and installed in the Borough parks. The program debuted in July of 2016 with a presentation and tour of the Borough parks where the artists participating in the program would discuss what inspired their piano designs.
“We decided to add more pianos to the program this year because we had such an enthusiastic response from the community for last year’s design contest,” said Mayor Reiman. “We are going to integrate the pianos from last year with some of the newer designs. Additional parks and public areas will receive pianos this year.”
Many of the pianos that were painted last year will be rotated to a different park this year so that residents can appreciate artwork they may not have had a chance to see. The pianos will begin being placed into the parks in early May. Artists interested in submitting designs should email info@centraljerseyartscouncil.org or pick up a design packet at the Memorial Municipal Building, 61 Cooke Ave. Information on the piano designs and pictures of the finished pianos & artists painting them can be found at njpianosinthepark.com. The art themes that were selected were as follows:
Anime
Around the World
Dibble and Dabble Creativity Center
CJAC Drawing Club
Flowers
Carteret Historical Committee
Steam Punk
Support our Troops & Veterans
CJAC Teen Advisory Board (TAB)
Tree of Life
Center of it all
