Friday, July 20, 2012

Play Me I'm Yours: Pajaro Tropical - Dominica Piano

One of my favorite things about this Toronto Street Piano Project - the city wide art projects featuring fourty-one originally re-imagined pianos, each representing one of the nations participating in the 2015 PanAm Games - is the hunt itself.  I'm really enjoying the treasure hunt aspect of this project for me and the discovering of many small little parks and areas of the city that I, a non-Torontonian until recently would never have otherwise known about.  


In this case I'm referring to the Yorkville Cumberland Terrace.  We walked up and I swear there was a little Italian guy there playing the theme from the Godfather on violin.  Surreal situation.  This place is steps outside the exit of Bay Station, a Station scarcely used by anyone who doesn't live or work within a four block radius.  


Then there are patios and little shops (selling very expensive items,) all surrounding this little pavillion-type area including a large water feature which creates a constant vertical flow of several dozens of streams of water.  It was a beautiful place to put a street piano.  


I also was fortunate enough to come across some real information about the artist responsible for such a piece.  Her name is Karen Miranda Augustine, and she's a ritualistic pop artist from Toronto with roots in the Commonwealth of Dominica.  Turns out she is a fascinating woman with a very unique style and approach and we'll be looking out for her work in the future of Toronto art for sure.  


The piano is representative of Dominica's participation in the 2015 PanAm games taking place right here in Toronto, Ontario.  


Until the next!

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