Sing for Hope Piano uplifts, engages FIU early voters

Sing for Hope has placed one of its iconic Sing for Hope Pianos near an early voting site at Florida International University in Miami, Fl., using the power of music to inspire voter engagement, bring joy to passersby, and create community through the arts. The beautiful artist-designed piano will remain near the polling site at FIU's Student Academic Success Center Multipurpose Room at Modesto Maidique Campus through November 1.

FIU School of Music students and faculty artists gave pop-up performances on the colorful piano, which was designed and hand-painted by acclaimed Cuban-American artist Alexis Mendoza. Normally, Sing for Hope Pianos are available for anyone and everyone to play and enjoy. However, the use of this one is being limited due to COVID-19 safety concerns. After its time outside the early voting site, the Sing for Hope Piano will be donated to the FIU School of Music, which will become its permanent home and where it will enrich students' lives for years to come.

Sing for Hope Co-Founder Monica Yunus said: "This is arguably the most critical election of our lifetimes. Across the entire music industry, there has been a groundswell of artists working to encourage voter registration and get out the vote. Now, in this final week, as voters prepare to wait in lines to cast their ballot, they can enjoy live music performed by FIU faculty and student artists on Alexis Mendoza's stunning Sing for Hope Piano."

Sing for Hope Co-Founder Camille Zamora said: "The Sing for Hope Pianos aim to democratize the arts. Like voting, they speak to our belief that everyone has a voice, and every voice should be lifted. Music helps us mobilize, it powers social movements, and that's why it's so vital right now. It's one of the few things big enough to connect us across division, and to hold both our struggle and our hope."

"This is a wonderful opportunity to provide arts advocacy and the power of music," said FIU School of Music Director Karen Fuller.

The Sing for Hope Piano installation outside the early polling site follows recent "Voter Registration Recitals" in Brooklyn hosted by famed musician and Sing for Hope board member Jon Batiste and in partnership with Sing for Hope, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that transforms lives by using the power of arts to create a better world.

The renowned Sing for Hope Pianos is a community initiative that places artist-designed pianos in parks, public spaces, refugee camps and transit hubs in what is the country's largest annually recurring public art project. Due to the pandemic, Sing for Hope had to suspend its 2020 public Sing for Hope Pianos installation in New York City, focusing instead on vibrant pop-up events (socially distanced and masked) that encourage voter registration, as well as outdoor concerts for frontline workers and isolated patients.

For more information about Sing for Hope and its Sing for Hope Pianos initiative, visit singforhope.org.